


Where My Heart Is

by Sgt_Pepperony94



Series: Storms and Rubble [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Gen, Humour, Multi, Pietro Maximoff Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-23 04:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10712535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sgt_Pepperony94/pseuds/Sgt_Pepperony94
Summary: Fluffy, comedic drabbles about the life of Steve and Wanda Rogers following their return to New York.





	1. Moving Day

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Where My Heart Is  
> Author: Sgt. Pepperony  
> Fandom: Avengers (MCU)  
> Main Pairing: Steve/Wanda  
> Secondary Pairings: Tony/Pepper, Clint/Laura, Sam/Darcy, Pietro/Daisy  
> Rating: T  
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, characters. Property of Marvel and Disney. Lyrics by The Vaccines. It’s called ‘I Always Knew’ and a good song. 
> 
> So, I’m back with this universe again. This is going to be a comedic fluff drabble fic so updates will not be as regular or traumatic for y’all to read. So, if you haven’t read Rubble, read it so you are up to date on a) how Pietro lives, b) how Steve and Wanda got together, c) the ‘mild’ changes to Civil War, d) an attempt to connect the Netflix shows and e) the fate of Tony and Bucky. These drabbles are set post-Part Three hence why nothing traumatic is going to happen.

_Down, down in my bones_  
_Somewhere I'd never ever known_  
_Right at the back of my head_  
_It hit me like a beam of light_  
_Hit me like a hook with a right_  
_And I could have fell to the floor_

“Finally,” Pietro breathed as he pulled tape across a cardboard box labelled ‘Pietro Clothes’.

“Now we just have to get everything downstairs, into the van and into the house,” Steve replied surveying the living room filled with boxes. Pietro groaned. “At least we have help.”

“What we need is someone who can morph into one of those luggage carriages.”

“I don't know why you are complaining,” Wanda commented as she attempted to bounce her son to sleep. Joey’s second tooth was beginning to cut through his gums and he was fussing in his mother's arms. “You can run up and down with those boxes in two seconds flat.”

“More like fifteen with these legs.” Pietro lifted his right leg, which underneath his jeans had a Stark Industries robotic exoskeleton. “You forget that I only started walking again two weeks ago.”

Wanda felt a tinge of guilt. She had been so thrilled when Pietro started walking again that she expected too much of him so soon. She kept forgetting that he had spent the best part of two years in a wheelchair.

“Sorry, Pietro.”

“Don't worry about it. What time is Sam getting here?”

Steve looked at his watch, “Now.”

The three men and the removal men managed to get all the boxes and the furniture out of the apartment in just under an hour. Using some sense, Joey's things were packed onto the truck last so they could come off first, thus giving the baby the least amount of disruption. Since Clint and Laura were meeting them at the new house to help unpack, they had asked Clint to bring his tools. Laura was going to be looking after Joey while everyone unpacked.

It did not take long to get from Hell's Kitchen to Brooklyn, and Joey thankfully fell asleep in the car. As soon as they arrived, Laura took her brood and Joey away from the house so everyone could get the truck unloaded. Only for them to encounter a problem.

“The lift isn't going up,” Steve explained as he carried four boxes into the house. Sam followed with one box and a face that spoke ‘show off’.

Wanda grumbled as she unpacked some of the ordainments, putting them at a height that Joey could not reach. “Why am I not surprised?”

“It's fine Doll; they'll fix it in no time.”

“Dude, she's already on edge,” Sam said between gritted teeth.

“I'm not on edge Sam,” Wanda replied. “I just would like something to go right for us.”

“Well, your brother can walk again...”

“I meant something simple.”

“You haven't slept have you?”

“No. Joey's breaking in another tooth.”

“Just stick some whiskey in his mouth...” Sam stopped when he saw Steve and Wanda glare at him. “Just a joke.”

“Without meaning to sound like a whiney asshole, but can you two quit yaking and help me and Roadrunner get this couch out the van?” Clint yelled. 

“Have they fixed the lift?” Steve asked.

“No.”

“Those two are nuts,” Sam commented as he and Steve walked back out the front door.

Having finished unpacking the box containing the ceramic ordainments, Wanda moved to unpack the boxes Steve and Sam had just brought in. She snorted when she saw that one of the boxes Steve was carrying only contained blankets. He was either toying with Sam or trying to be helpful since the next box contained the cable box, the DVD player and the PlayStation 4.

She looked at the TV and groaned. Rewiring all the equipment was the equivalent of brain surgery and she half-wished Tony was there to do it in two seconds. That said, she preferred that he continued his rehab treatment since he was only half way through. No one wanted to see him fall off the wagon again, though the doctor's warning that another alcohol binge would cause permanent liver damage.

Then she had an idea. She pulled her phone out and pressed FaceTime under Tony's name, hoping that the rehab clinic had given him his phone back. After two rings, Tony's face appeared.

“ _You look stressed_ ,” he commented.

“You don't want to know.”

“ _That's that good thing about having your house been blown up: you don't have to lug a load a crap_.”

“What about DUM-E?”

“ _Point. What you want_?”

“I need you to tell me how to attach things to a TV.”

“ _It's hardly brain surgery_.”

“It is if you are me. I need to set the cable up first.” Wanda followed Tony's instructions on how to set up the cable and DVD player, and as she set up the PlayStation 4, she asked, “So, how is California?”

“ _Well, the good thing about California is their heath fads. This clinic has been feeding me these vegetable juices. Honestly, they’re just cold soup_.”

“Well, that saves me asking what you were drinking.”

“ _Reminds me of a time I had a beet margarita in Epcot. Only without the booze to cut through the taste_.”

“Tony,” Wanda said warningly.

“ _What, am I not allowed to reminisce now_?”

“You were suggesting adding alcohol-”

“ _I was kidding_.”

“Well don’t. I was terrified when I found you in the Tower lounge.”

“ _Sorry_. _I feel like I say that a lot nowadays_.”

“Isn’t that a part of your program?”

“ _It’s step eight_.”

“Well, apology accepted.”

At that point, there was a massive bang and large yell coming from the front door. “ _What was that_?”

Wanda walked over to the door where Steve, Pietro, Sam and Clint were standing around the couch with Clint hunched over and his hand on his back. “Clint? You okay?” Wanda asked.

“Just – Smashing,” he replied in a strained tone.

“I think he’s pulled a muscle in his back,” Steve said and he mildly hit Pietro – who was starting to laugh – in the stomach.

“You think?” Clint asked sarcastically. Wanda could hear Tony sniggering and even she was struggling not to laugh. “I need to lie down.”

“Right, good idea, but we need to get this into the house first,” Sam said.

“You carry me in.” Clint lay down on the couch, and Steve, Sam and Pietro looked around before deciding to abandon the task in favour of something else.

-o-

While they still had some more unpacking to do and despite Clint needing to go to the emergency room, Wanda was relieved that the day had gone better than expected. Joey’s crib was set up and they had found the emergency overnight box where they had a set of pyjamas for all of them, some baby food and leftover ziti to eat, toiletries and spare phone chargers.

Wanda sighed as she sat on the couch. After Laura took Clint to the hospital, Sam, Steve and Pietro managed to carry the couch into the house and that was when everyone gave up unpacking for the day. Pietro was snoozing in the chair with Joey sleeping on his stomach.

“I swear being pregnant did not screw my back up this much,” Wanda commented.

“You don’t need to go to the hospital as well do you?” Steve asked.

“No. It’s just aching. I’ll run a bath in a bit.” She snuggled up a bit closer to Steve and he kissed the top of his wife’s head. “Day is too long.”

“At least we’ve finally moved in. Took us about well over a year.”

“At least it is habitable. It would have been great if we did everything in the right order. We literally did everything backwards.”

“True. We’re sort of meant to move into the house, get married and then have a baby. Not have a baby, get married then move into a house.” They both laughed at this. “Oh well. At least everything is perfect. Almost. Bucky just needs to come home.”

“T-minus three-hundred and fifty-one days, and he’ll be home.”


	2. Back to School

Chapter Two

“I think I want to go back to school,” Wanda declared as she climbed into bed next to Steve.

“Okay, fine by me,” Steve responded not looking up from his book.

“Really?”

“Why would I have a problem?”

“I thought you'd be telling me I was insane with a seven-month-old to look after.”

“Hey,” he said putting his book down. “Why would I tell you that?”

“I don't know. I guess I am doubting myself.”

“Look, you can do anything you put your mind to. At least pick up a course catalogue.”

“I will. In the morning. Right now...”

Wanda flew her leg over Steve's thighs so she was straddling him. Steve smirked as his hand reached into the draw of his bedside table. Wanda kissed him and Steve rolled them over. Just as Steve had worked his hands under Wanda’s t-shirt, a whine came through the baby monitor on Wanda’s bedside table.

“I just put him to bed,” Wanda whispered.

“I’ll get him.”

Steve climbed off Wanda and she sighed as he walked out the room. This was the third time this week Joey had woken not long after putting him to bed. There had to be a solution.

-o-

“So what you going to do? Enrol yourself as a freshman despite being ten years older than everyone there?” Natasha asked sipping her coffee.

“I don't know. I spoke to the Extended Services woman and she gave me this catalogue to look at,” Wanda said holding up a book titled Kennedy High School Extended Services. “It might be an option but they also do something called a GED. At least that doesn't mean I am going to be surrounded by testosterone-filled pubescent boys for four years.” 

“Trust me, we have enough testosterone to handle as it is.” At that point, Joey waved his banana covered hands at his mum, while making a babble that was almost as though he was saying “Clean me.”  Wanda smiled and grabbed a baby wipe and started cleaning his hands. In the meantime, Natasha had started flicking through the course catalogue. “Do you want to go to college?”

“Potentially,” Wanda replied wiping around Joey’s mouth.

“You sure you can do the school thing with an infant?”

“Don’t. I have already been through this with myself. Besides, I am willing to take the night classes so someone would be in the house to look after Joey.”

“I’m not talking you out of it. I’m just making sure that you are certain you want to do this. After all, you are not getting much sleep by the looks of things.”

“I am sure. Besides. I am going to try sleep training this week. Aren’t we Joey?” Joey just blinked his green eyes at his mother. “Glad you agree.”

-o-

After filling out the application for the GED programme and handing it into the school administrator, Wanda went to the bookshop and picked up a book on how to sleep train infants. She groaned when she saw the first page said that it was recommended that training starts at around four months.

“We’re so behind on everything,” she complained to Steve as he fed Joey pureed green beans.

“Wanda, he’s seven months old. I am not expecting him to be walking and stringing sentences together.”

“I’m not, but if it is recommended that we should have started sleep training at four months-”

“It’s recommended. It does not mean it works for all babies. What if we had started and he did not adapt to it? Besides, you won’t know until you try.”

“I suppose. Though reading this is making me question why I spent twenty dollars when I could have just searched this on the internet.”

“How long are you going to give this?”

“A week. We’ll see. He is your son after all.”

“What are you trying to imply?” Steve asked, slightly sarcastically.

“You know exactly what I mean, Mr ‘Can’t Back Down’.” Steve smirked a little as he lifted Joey from his high chair and kissed his cheek. “So, do you want to do: bath, book or bed?”

“I’ll give him a bath.”

“Good, because I want him asleep by seven.”

“Good luck with that Doll.”

-o-

It did not go quite to plan, thought it was not catastrophic. Joey did not like the idea of going to bed at seven when he was so used to going to bed at half eight. Rather than fall asleep, he would sit up and crying, though it was more whiney than panic-stricken. It did subside after about half an hour, but only because Wanda gave in and rocked him to sleep.

“Well, that was a bust,” Pietro commented when Wanda came down the stairs, baby monitor in hand.

“It was only the first night,” Wanda yawned.

“The problem is you is that you are a soft touch.”

“I know. Tomorrow I will do better.”

The next day went the same. As did the day after. Wanda was just about to give up on the plan when the fourth night, Joey fell asleep at half seven on the dot. He did whine a little but the message seemed to click that being in his crib at seven meant time to sleep.

Not that she would tell Steve, but Wanda did do a little happy dance in the hallway. She grinned as she walked to the kitchen where Steve was holding an envelope up. It had her name on it.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s from the school,” he replied handing the envelope to her.

Wanda opened it and pulled out a letter. She read it carefully, then smiled. “They said I can start next week.” She wrapped her arms around Steve and kissed him hard on the lips. Steve smiled against her lips.

Once they broke apart, Steve commented, “Do you want a One Direction pencil case?”

Wanda shook her head and tapped him slightly on the shoulder, smiling nonetheless. “Bet you can’t believe you are married to a school girl?”

“Well, it makes me feel a bit better about that school uniform in your closet.”

“We could use it tonight if you like.”

At that point, Steve looked over Wanda’s head and saw Pietro standing in the door with a look of disgust on his face.


	3. Christening

Chapter Three

A couple months passed like a blur. Tony was able to come home from rehab; Wanda had been working really hard with school to the point where she was carrying a text book around with her. Joey had adjusted to his sleep routine fairly well. Now there was just his baptism to get through. They already agreed on the godparents (Sam and Natasha), a day, and a location for the party. So one blustery Saturday morning, everyone had gathered in the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava and Wanda was hoping that Joey would not freak out over water being splashed on his head.

“So who was Saint Sava?” Sam asked as they walked into the cathedral.

“He was the son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, and he is recognised as the first Serbian Archbishop and founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church,” Pietro answered.

“Ah. Funny. I think of New York and I would not assume it would have a Serbian cathedral in the middle of Manhattan.”

“I grew up next to Greek and Irish neighbours so it did not phase me,” Steve added as he held his fussing son. He was not too keen on the material of his baptism gown against his skin.

“So I’m just carrying the candles?” Tony asked.

“You and Pepper,” Wanda replied.

“Okay. Hopefully this church does not set on fire again.”

“At least you do not have to carry a bottle of olive oil on you all day,” Natasha complained. “I don’t get how Sam counts as a godfather. He is not an Orthodox Christian.”

“Well,” Wanda began, “it’s you that the priest knows is Joey’s official sponsor. You know since you were baptised in an Orthodox church.”

“Do you at least have a change of clothes for him?”

“In the diaper bag.”

“Did they also mention that you have to take them to church for the next three weeks after the ceremony?” Sam asked.

“You are kidding me right?” Natasha asked as Wanda gave an apologetic smile.

“Well, at least you have not been set on fire for stepping over the threshold,” Tony commented.

“Tony,” Pepper warned.

“Sorry.”

Finally, it was time for the ceremony. Joey was mostly calm throughout save a couple times where he let out a loud babble that echoed through the building. The priest did not seem offended by this. He took it in good cheer. When the time came for Joey to be anointed, Wanda had to take him out of the gown, leaving him in just his diaper, and hold him as the priest poured water on his head. Thankfully, he did not shriek or cry. He shuffled uncomfortably due to the cold water and was quickly redressed.

It was official: Joseph Anthony Rogers was a part of the Serbian Orthodox church.

-o-

Since the Cathedral of Saint Sava was in Manhattan, it was easier to have the reception in the Avengers Tower. Wanda had cooked some paprikash and other Eastern European delicacies the previous day and thus could just stick it in the oven to reheat. There was some lemon-infused rice and cheesy mashed potatoes as well as some home-baked pumpernickel bread. Steve and Pietro had been told off at least three times the previous day for attempting to pick at the food.

Joey was a little tired when they got back so while everyone ate, Wanda put him down for a nap in the portable crib in Steve’s old room so he could sleep in peace. Only Wanda had forgotten that a major football game was on. New England Patriots against the San Francisco 49ers. Clint was slightly outnumbered since most of his football supporting friends were Patriots fans. Steve, being more of a baseball fan, kept out of it, while Pietro supported the Patriots only because it wound Clint up.

“Typical,” Laura commented as she, Pepper, Natasha and Wanda observed the men gathered around the television.

“You’d think socialising was difficult,” Pepper added as she lifted the television remote up. The screen went blank and a chorus of “hey” emerged from the men. “Guys, this is a party, not an excuse for you to ignore us for two hours.”

“But-” Sam began before Natasha raised her eyebrow.

Pietro muttered something in Sokovian, and Wanda raised her eyebrows. “You want to utter that in English.”

“We could always race Barton’s arrows against Road Runner’s legs,” Tony suggested. At that suggestion, Clint and Pietro had headed to the balcony, followed swiftly by Sam and Tony.

“At least they are socialising?” Natasha asked, not quite sure what to make of this.

“You’d think they were five,” Laura added.

Wanda looked around and could not see where Steve was, though she could hear his voice. She then looked at the baby monitor in her hand. It sounded like he was speaking with someone. “I’m just going to check on Joey.”

She went down to Steve’s floor where he was in his bedroom. She squinted curiously as she opened the door to see Steve holding his phone up to his face. She then smiled softly when she saw that he was speaking to Bucky via FaceTime.

“It’s just Wanda,” Steve told Bucky.

Wanda walked over and showed her face to the camera. “ _Hey, how you doing_?” Bucky asked.

“Good. Bit exhausted from school but good,” Wanda answered.

“ _How was the baptism_?”

“Lovely. Thankfully, no screaming.”

“I never got your concern that he would scream. He loves his baths,” Steve commented.

“I once found a video of mine and Pietro’s baptism. Pietro screamed so loudly that he shook the church slightly.”

“You sure it was not you?”

“I don’t know. Pietro and I looked identical as babies.”

“ _I remember Polly screaming the church down. That girl had a right set of lungs on her. She could have become an opera singer_ ,” Bucky added.

Wanda looked confused. Steve whispered, “Bucky’s youngest sister.”

“Oh.”

“ _Wish I could have been there_.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll have more to see of his life when you get out the hospital. They treating you well?” Wanda asked.

“ _Of course_. _Penelope is a great psychologist_.”

“She pretty?” Steve asked. Wanda raised her eyebrow. “What, I was thinking for Bucky?”

“ _She is pretty_ , _but I am not looking for a date at the moment_.”

“Good. Focus on getting better and then the women will come,” Wanda replied.

Bucky looked up to someone talking to him and then turned back, “ _I got to go_. _Give my love to everyone_.”

“Will do.” Steve hung up and turned to Joey, who was just stirring awake. Wanda went over and lifted him out the crib. “Hey sweetheart,” she whispered giving him a kiss. “You want to see your Uncle Pietro make a fool of himself?” Steve looked confused. “He and Clint are having a race because they can’t watch the football.”

“Ah.”

When the three of them returned upstairs, Pietro and Clint were three from three and it looked to be the decider. Wanda rolled her eyes and told Joey not to take his uncle seriously as a role model. Sam blew a whistle, Clint released an arrow and Pietro began running towards the designated finish line. Pietro beat the arrow by a split second.

“Yes! That is how you do it,” Pietro declared.

“Do I even tell Clint that the 49ners are losing by three points?” Laura asked.

“Nah,” Natasha responded.


	4. Vacation

Chapter Four

“Come on sweetie, say ‘mama’,” Wanda said as she spoon-fed Joey. Joey had been trying to string a word together and the best he could come up with was ‘ma’, or ‘mmmma’. Steve had been trying to do the same, but trying to convince his son to say ‘dada’. He and Wanda had a bet to see which he would say first. It did not help that Sam and Pietro wanted to get in on this bet and thus were attempting to get Joey to say ‘Pietro’ or ‘Sam’ as his first word. Since Joey was halfway there with saying ‘mama’, Wanda was convinced she was going to win.

Joey munched on his sweet potato puree and gave his mother a look that said, “What”.

“Okay, who changes all your diapers? Is it me or Dada?”

“All of them?” Steve asked looking up from his IPad.

“I’m exaggerating for effect,” Wanda replied.

“Maybe he could be like you: refused to speak until she was three,” Pietro commented.

“I could speak. The first words I ever said was ‘Mum, can I have some jam?’ I just did not want to speak. You did it all for me.”

“I thought Mum was going to have a heart attack.”

“Me too. I have never seen anyone’s face drain of colour so quickly.” The two chuckled slightly. Steve gave a faint smile before returning to his tablet. Wanda looked at him and wondered what was so interesting on his IPad. “What are you reading?”

“It’s Ross’s trial,” Steve replied.

“Are they going to cut his balls off?” Pietro asked.

“He is not going to defend himself.”

“How can he? Hogarth tore him to shreds at Bucky’s trial and pleading the fifth did not help his cause. I mean, if you were asked about intending to experiment on an infant, you would not plead the fifth,” Wanda said. Pietro noticed that she was bending the plastic spoon as she spoke.

“If he gets found guilty in the Supreme Court then it goes to the Hauge. Even President Clinton said she would give evidence for the prosecution.”

“I thought she supported the Accords,” Pietro said.

“She did, until she saw it went too far and it resulted in various human rights violations, as did many other world leaders. You saw King T’Challa’s face when we were in that holding cell.”

“I kind of worked that out when he gave us sanctuary. And he gave Joey a Wakandan passport.”

“He was born there. It’s kind of a legal obligation,” Wanda replied. “We still have Serbian passports despite Sokovia declaring independence.”

“Does that mean he is entitled to a Serbian passport?”

“Theoretically. He might be entitled to a German and Irish one as well.”

“Guys, I don’t have an Irish passport. Ma never had the chance to apply for one,” Steve imputed.

“Oh,” Wanda said returning her attention to Joey and fed him another spoon of sweet potato. “We should go on a vacation.”

“Where?” Pietro asked.

“Not sure. I fancy Hawaii.”

“Hawaii?” Steve asked.

“Yeah.”

“You are willing to go on an eleven-hour flight with an infant?”

“You not willing?”

“Let’s just say that Joey might become a little difficult on the flight. He’s not been on a commercial flight before.”

“We will manage. I promise.”

“Good, because there is a flight to Honolulu this Saturday.”

Wanda beamed and leaned over to kiss her husband on the cheek. “Thank you.”

-o-

“Here you go Mr and Mrs Rogers. Three first class tickets. Have a safe flight.”

“Thanks,” Steve said as he took the tickets and he and Wanda began to walk towards security. Joey was babbling away in his stroller. “You nervous?”

“No. Well, maybe during take-off and landing. And maybe if there is turbulence,” she answered.

“We’ll be fine.”

“We will. Won’t we Joey?” Joey just let out a yell in response. “Do you think Pietro will be okay on his own?”

“Yeah. I am sure he will.”

At that point, Wanda ground to a halt when she saw Sam and Pietro walking towards and waving at them. Sam was wearing a printed shirt. “What are they…”

“I do not know,” Steve replied just as stunned.

“Hey,” Sam said pushing his baggage cart towards the Rogers.

“What are you doing here?” Wanda asked.

“I haven’t been on vacation for a while so Pietro and I thought we would tag along.”

“Right…” Steve said.

“Oh, is this a married people thing?”

“Well, kind of…” Wanda replied in a voice that sounded uncertain.

“I bought Darcy along.”

“Great,” Wanda said realising where this conversation was going. Sam went to check his bags in and Wanda raised her eyebrows at her twin.

Pietro shuffled his feet awkwardly and explained, “I thought since you two will be… doing what you do every night, I would bring some company that would talk back.”

“You know Sam and Darcy will be having sex as well?” Steve responded.

“Very loudly,” Wanda added.

“I would not complain about being loud Wanda,” Pietro commented. Wanda’s cheeks went pink.

“Have you invited anyone else?” Steve asked.

“No. Sorry, I just wanted some company.”

“We’re not mad Pietro,” Wanda said. “It would have been nice if you had consulted us first but we’re not angry.”

“Besides, we’re not going to be leaving you with Joey the whole time,” Steve added.

“During the night, then?” Pietro asked suspiciously.

“No,” Wanda replied shaking her head. “Look, you need to check in and we need to get pass security.”

“Fine. I’ll see you in the departure lounge.”

-o-

The plane journey was surprisingly smooth. Wanda tensed as they took off and landed, Joey did let out a cry due to cabin pressure hurting his ears but was soothed when Wanda gave him his bottle, and there was only a mild bit of turbulence. There was one moment where Sam and Darcy disappeared into the bathroom together. When they returned, Steve and Sam exchanged a look that communicated, “Really?” on Steve’s part and “Don’t judge me. You and Wanda had sex in the bed next to mine” on Sam’s part.

Eventually, they landed in Honolulu and got a cab to La Hiki Four Seasons Hotel near the Kohola Lagoon. Wanda and Steve managed to get a room that faced the ocean and Wanda beamed. While unpacking, she kept pointing out the window so Joey could get his first glimpse of the sea, though he was not sure what he was looking at. The hotel was clean, they had given Joey a crib and a baby bath, and the bed was so comfortable that Wanda would have laid there forever. It was like sleeping on a cloud, though Steve did not like sleeping on it so much. It still felt like a marshmallow.

Wanda hung up one last dress, and turned to Steve, “Okay, let’s get down to the beach.”

“You have been looking forward to this all week.”

“Are you glad that I convinced you?”

“Maybe. Could do with some relaxation for once.”

Wanda smirked. She put her bikini on underneath a romper, dressed Joey in a sun-safe swimsuit and packed a small bag filled with towels and toys. She was hoping to show Joey how to build a sandcastle like her father had shown her and Pietro. He had taken them to Dubrovnik when they were three; they could still see the damage following the siege of the city two years earlier. Wanda vaguely remembered how anxious her mother was the entire trip. At least Hawaii was not a warzone.

They found Pietro, Sam and Darcy by in the middle of the beach, conveniently near the bar. Wanda rolled her eyes but ordered a mocktail anyway. Once she laid out the towel, put sunscreen on herself and her son, Wanda removed her romper and exposed the red bikini she was wearing.

“I hope I look like that after I have a kid,” Darcy commented.

“Trust me, this is ten months’ hard work to get it back to flat,” Wanda replied. “And I still have the bright red stretchmarks.”

“Baby oil. Worked on my thighs.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Wanda replied. She smiled as Joey looked around at his surroundings, his hands patting the sand with a curious expression on his face. “Not too sure are you sweetie?” Joey looked up and then back at the sand. Once he grasped the texture, he began to smile. “You want to see a magic trick?” Wanda grabbed the bucket and spade, filled the bucket with sand, patted it, turned the bucket upside down on the ground and lifted the bucket up to reveal a sand castle. Joey began laughing and clapped his hands.

“So easily amused,” Pietro commented.

“Pietro, you used to laugh at a nodding dog,” Wanda replied.

Sam sniggered, “At least he is enjoying himself.”

“You saying that I am not?” Pietro asked.

“Well, you seemed a bit put out on the plane,” Darcy added.

“I wasn’t put out.”

“Really?” Sam asked.

“Yes, really,” Pietro snapped. He huffed a bit and then began walking in the direction of the bar.

“Just leave him to cool off,” Wanda said.

Pietro grumbled as he walked to the bar and sat down. The bartender looked up and he muttered, “Beer please.” He was handed a beer and he took two sharp gulps. “Damn that’s good.”

“You looked like you needed that,” someone commented beside him. Pietro looked to his right and saw a Eurasian woman sitting there with a mojito. She was really pretty, especially in the pink sundress she was wearing.

“Family vacation with my sister, brother-in-law, my nephew, my best friend and his girlfriend.”

“Ah, this is why I travelled alone. I think if I bought my lot along, I would need a brain transplant.”

“I think I was just expecting to have some fun myself.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Two hours.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, yikes. Yourself?”

“Only arrived yesterday. I needed a break from work.”

“What do you do?”

“You serious?”

“Why would I be serious?”

“No reason. I work for the government. Top secret. The people would have to kill you and me if I said one more word.”

“Yikes?”

The woman chuckled, “Yeah, yikes. I’m Daisy by the way.”

“You allowed to reveal that?”

“Of course I am. Your name?”

“Pietro.”

“Nice to meet you Pietro.”

-o-

“I see you have finally calmed down,” Wanda said later when they were grabbing dinner.

“Sorry. I think our conversation in the airport may have gotten to me a little,” Pietro replied.

“Listen, I am sorry I had a go at you for it. It was a good idea to bring them along.”

“Really?”

“Well, Sam gave Steve someone to kick a ball with and I could actually have a conversation with someone who would talk back.”

“I take it that is your way of saying that your saw my point.”

“Well, if it had just been you, me, Steve and Joey, you and Steve would be kicking the ball around and I would be trying to have a conversation with my ten-month-old, whose repertoire consists solely of ‘ma’.”

Pietro chuckled, “All is forgiven. Besides, that fight meant that I may not have spoken to an interesting woman.”

“She pretty?”

“Beautiful.”

“You got her number.”

“I don’t know. She says that her job was demanding and top secret.”

“Demanding and top secret? A bit like yours?”

“I’m not a proper Avenger yet Wanda. Besides, two people with high demanding and secret jobs are not compatible.”

“Maybe. Look, don’t worry about having to babysit. You can go find her and have a fling.”

“You serious?”

“You deserve it after everything you have been trough in the last two years.”

“Thanks Wanda.”

“Now go, enjoy your vacation.”

“I will, after I have eaten. This is family time.”


	5. Birthday

Chapter Five

Before Wanda could even think, Joey’s first birthday arrived. It seemed only yesterday that he was a tiny newborn resting on her chest. Two days before his first birthday, Joey started to take his first shaky steps. Her heart broke a little since her little baby was growing up. She had a slight wobble that she may want another baby but shook her head at the thought. The trauma of Joey’s birth almost scared her off having another baby for a while.

For his first birthday, Wanda was had intended to just do a small get-together. Then she realised how many people she wanted to invite and it turned into an actual party. It was a good idea since the kids could keep themselves company while the adults could have an actual conversation. Wanda had even spent the day baking a cake. However, when the day of the party arrived, Joey had caught the sniffles. The doctor recommended his to get some rest, so most of the day he was taking a nap.

“It’s not really a birthday party if we do not have the birthday boy,” Wanda grumbled as she put the cake on the side.

“He’s one. He is not going to remember this,” Pietro replied as he bit into a sandwich.

“Well, he might. Sam’s recording the party so Joey can watch it on his eighteenth birthday.”

“You know most eighteen-year-olds would like a car.”

“Nice to know that you intend to buy my son a car. It sounds a neat idea, and it might be funny to watch it back and see ourselves when we were young. Especially since Tony will have grey hair.”

“No I won’t,” Tony protested.

“Well, you are pushing fifty,” Pietro joked. “And I can see one right by your left temple.”

“And here is your mother Joey. Wasn’t she a beauty?” Sam commented when he walked in holding his IPhone up.

“Are you trying to imply that I am going to be hideous in eighteen years?” Wanda asked.

“No. I wasn’t… You look like you’ll age well. Just saying that you are beautiful now.”

“Wrap it up dude, wrap it up,” Tony whispered.

“This is your Uncle Pietro. Don’t worry about the hair, he is your mother’s twin,” Sam continued. Tony snorted. “And this is Tony. His hair is so big because it contains his overinflated ego.” Tony, childishly, threw a crisp at him. “Hey.”

“Are you just going to insult us throughout this video?” Wanda asked.

“Just giving an honest picture to your son.”

Wanda shook her head and Sam left the kitchen to the living room where the others were gathered and chatting. By the looks of it, Cooper had entered the disinterested teenager stage and was on his phone, headphones attached to his ears. Lila was playing with Cassie, like they were when they were in Wakanda. Natasha was attempting to play with Nathaniel, who now a full-blown toddler, seemed to have gathered a fascination with trying to grab anything in sight. Wanda had made sure she put all her breakable items above a height that the kids would be able to reach, though in this case Nathaniel was interested in Natasha’s hair. Laura just about warned him to say no.

“Oh wait until Joey gets to that stage,” Clint commented as he sipped his beer.

“Terrible twos?” Steve asked.

“Well, in Nate’s case it was eighteen months. Lila was fine, but Cooper was a nightmare.”

“So, it’s a boy thing?”

“Not quite. It might just be my genes. You and Wanda are better people than I am so Joey may turn out okay.”

Steve snorted, “You haven’t seen him around lunchtime.”

“What about Cassie? She go through an attitude problem?” Clint asked Scott.

“Cassie?” Scott asked. “Angel right the way through.”

“It’s a boy thing then.”

“What’s a boy thing?” Pepper asked.

“The terrible twos,” Steve answered.

“Nah. It isn’t. My younger sister was known as Hurricane Julia from the age of two until the age of eight.”

“Then it is definitely me,” Clint said sipping his beer again.

“Well, in that case, you are banned from the house for the next seventeen years,” Steve joked.

“What about me? I went to prison,” Scott added.

“Okay, you are both banned from this house.”

“You know I was joking, right?” Scott asked.

“You have not been around long have you?” Clint asked.

“I’ve not been around long enough to know if he is joking.”

“Don’t worry, I am joking,” Steve replied.

In the meantime, Wanda had gone to check on Joey. He was still sleeping with his mouth open and his thumb was near his mouth. He liked sucking it before going to sleep, especially since he had refused to such on a pacifier. Thankfully, he hadn’t developed a fever.

Just then, Wanda got a call on her phone. Joey shuffled at the noise and Wanda immediately answered so his sleep would not be disturbed anymore. It was the psychiatric hospital, which meant Bucky was calling.

“Hey,” Wanda said as she put the phone to her ear.

“ _Hey, I was calling to wish Joey a happy birthday_ ,” he said.

“Thanks. He’s got the sniffles though so we have to wait for him to wake up from a nap.”

“ _Oh. How bad_?”

“Not too bad. His nose is just blocked. At least it is not anything more serious. How are you holding up in there?”

“ _Not bad. Just another six months. They’re trying cognitive behavioural therapy now. Trying to train my brain not to responded to those words._ ”

“How’s that going?”

“ _Well, I managed not to react to the first three words, but as soon as they say daybreak, I can feel him coming._ ”

“Well, that’s good progress, I guess.”

“ _The thing is that if I don’t get the triggering words out of my head by the time August comes around, then they have to apply for an extension_.”

“Right.” Wanda bit her lip and looked into the cot to see Joey had woken up. His eyes were fluttering. “You’ll get out. I promise. Besides, you know Steve is coming in a couple days. He is not going to give up on you, even if you are given an extension.”

“ _You seem optimistic about it_.”

“You have to be Bucky. It is the only way you’ll get through this.” At that point, Joey woke up with a small whine. “Buck, I have to go. Joey’s waking up. Do you want to wish him a happy birthday?”

“ _Can do._ ” Wanda put her phone on speaker and Bucky said, “ _Hey Joey. It’s your Uncle Bucky. Happy birthday_. _I’ll see you one day soon.”_

In his sleepy state, Joey looked a little confused but Wanda smiled. “He says thank you. I’ll see you soon okay?”

“ _Okay_ , _I’ll see you soon_.”

Wanda hung up, and lifted Joey out the crib, “Waking up is hard, isn’t it? Why don’t we get some cake?”

Wanda went down the stairs and announced that he had woken up. Steve took his son from Wanda so she could light the blue candle shaped in the number one. Everyone began to sing happy birthday to Joey, who looked a little confused about all the singing. Wanda and Steve blew the candle out for Joey. Wanda pressed a kiss to Joey’s cheek and he giggled a little. He seemed much better. Until he sneezed over the cake.


	6. Party

Chapter Six

"No. No. No," Wanda commented as she threw one dress after another onto the bed. She was meant to be getting ready for Tony and Pepper's engagement party, but she had forgotten how much her body had changed in the last two years. Wanda was never known to be self-conscious of her body. Being on the streets meant the more food the better. After joining the Avengers and having access to as much food as she wanted, her thin frame developed some welcome curves in the right places. However, her post-baby body had left her with a slight pudge on her lower stomach that meant the dresses in her closet were uncomfortably tight. "Why can't I find anything to wear?"

"There has to be something in there that still fits," Steve replied holding up a blue number from the closet.

"Steve, my chest has mutated and my stomach has about five inches more than it did when I bought that dress. Why did I not just do a purge of the closet before we moved?"

"You said that you had goals to get back into those dresses." Wanda glared at him. "What about some of your maternity dresses?" Wanda grumbled. The maternity dresses really were the only option she had if she wanted a dress. Admittedly, it was not meant to be a fancy gathering so the dresses would be acceptable. "Come on, Doll. The babysitter will be here in a minute."

After the babysitter arrived, Steve, Wanda and Pietro packed into the car and drove all the way to Manhattan. Pietro kept tugging on his collar as though it was strangling him. "Why could they have not just done a party with Chinese food?" he complained.

"Because being a famous billionaire and a CEO of a prestigious company means that the great and the rich have to come and mingle," Steve explained, not exactly disagreeing with his brother-in-law.

"Does this mean we have to mingle?" Wanda asked.

"I think Jane and Darcy are coming."

"That's a relief, I guess."

"Just smile and relax and it will be all over before you know it."

Eventually, they arrived at the hotel where a valet took the car to park. Wanda took Steve's arm as they posed for photographs, Wanda forcing a smile – she always hated having press photos taken. They went ahead into the lobby and to the ballroom where they found Natasha and Sam grimacing as they had to listen to an overweight, badly tanned man with a bad haircut talk about how great he was, and how he should have won the recent US election.

When Sam saw Steve, he quickly made his exit, "I am going to have a serious conversation with whoever is in charge of inviting people."

"Seriously, who invited him?" Wanda asked as she looked at Natasha who was looking for an escape route.

"Rumour has it that his poor assistant had to beg the Stark Industries PR woman for an invite," Steve answered taking three champagnes from the waiter.

"Stacey?" Sam asked.

"You're on first name terms with the Stark Industries PR woman?" Wanda questioned with a smirk on her face.

"We went to college together. Besides Darce and I are still together."

"Good. Would lose some respect for you."

"Oh ha ha. I lost respect for you two the day you fucked in the bed beside me."

Steve's cheek went a deep red, as did Wanda's. The best response Wanda could muster was, "You got a godson out of it."

Steve's cheeks went the colour of beetroot. At that point Natasha came up, looking as though she really wanted to use her specialist skill to kill the overweight man. She was about to comment on the colour of Steve's face but instead took two glasses of champagne, throwing one back.

"That bad?" Wanda asked.

"I swear he was very close to grabbing my ass. Or something else. Sexual assault either way," Natasha responded.

"We should let Tony know. Surely he could have a word-" Steve suggested.

"I don't know, Handsy does not seem to be the negotiating type, and I don't think punching the guy in the face will help."

"What about a kick in the balls?" Wanda asked. Natasha and Sam burst out laughing. "Best get away before he catches on."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very brief I know, but I am trying to get back into the swing of writing again. Heavy writers block.


	7. Chicken Pox

Chapter Seven

“Right, got my text books, got my pens and papers, got my laptop, let’s get down to studying,” Wanda told herself as she sat down by the kitchen table. Her GED social studies test was in two weeks and she had to get to some studying done now or it will never be done. “Right, let’s start with US History. After Spain sent Columbus on his first voyage to the New World in 1492, other explorers followed. The first Europeans to arrive in territory of the modern United States were Spanish conquistadors such as Juan Ponce de León, who made his first visit to Florida in 1513 – What is wrong with you?”

Pietro had come into the kitchen sluggishly and had sat down on the chair with a thump. He eventually replied, “I feel like shit.”

“Can you feel like shit somewhere else?”

“Full of sympathy you are.”

“Why do you feel like shit?”

“Dunno. I just feel…. eugh.”

 Wanda got out of her seat to feel her twin’s head. “You do feel really warm.”

“I also keep coming out in hives.” Pietro exposed his arm where there was a rash with some red spots. “I may need to go to the doctor.”

“Pietro, I think you may have chicken pox.”

“I thought I already had chicken pox.”

“That’s what I am thinking, but I have read every symptom of childhood illnesses six times over. You have a fever, you feel unwell, and you have red spots. You must have had an allergic reaction to something as a child and that was what caused the rash.”

“Great…”

“Well, I think you need to go to bed and rest. I don’t want you getting Joey sick.”

“What is the deal? He gets it and then he never gets it again.”

“I have to study and if I have to look after a sick baby I will fall behind.”

“Fine, I will keep away from your child.”

“Good. I will bring you some paracetamol and juice in a minute.”

-o-

“After having arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, Captain Cook sailed north and then northeast to explore the west coast of North America north of the Spanish settlements in Alta California. He made landfall on the Oregon coast at approximately 44°30′ north latitude, naming his landing point Cape Foulweather,” Wanda read aloud as she wrote down the notes from her social studies textbook.

“Working hard?” Steve asked as he came into the kitchen.

“I am almost done with the colonial period,” she answered. “Would have gotten further if Pietro would actually sleep.”

“You mean Joey.”

“Pietro has chicken pox. He is in a quarantine zone so Joey does not catch it. He is being very demanding.”

“Well, I am going to order some Thai for dinner. I will ask him what he wants.”

“Thanks Steve.” Steve bent down to kiss her forehead, only he pulled back a bit and then felt her head. “What?”

“You feel really warm. Like you’re burning up.” Steve got the thermometer from the First Aid kit and put it under Wanda’s tongue. After thirty seconds he took it out. “One-hundred point four.”

“It’s probably just warm in here.” Wanda then began to scratch the inside of her arm. Steve looked at her arm and saw some red spots. “That cannot be right.”

“I think you need to go to bed.”

“But-”

“No buts.”

-o-

The next morning, Wanda tried to get out of bed to get back to her studying, but Steve had stopped her by bringing her some breakfast. The rash had now spread to her face, leaving her with nasty read sores one her forehead, nose and chin.

“I’m not hungry,” she protested.

“You need to keep some energy to get better,” he retorted.

“I need to get back to studying, Though I am not going to be able to write anything down with this mitts on my hands.”

“If I take them off, you are going to scratch and scar yourself.”

“And? This itch is driving me insane.”

“I can put some camomile lotion on your spots to sooth them.”

“If this is your attempt at being seductive, you are failing hard.” Steve chuckled and grabbed the lotion from the bedside table. “Did you every have chicken pox?”

“Oh yeah. Knocked me for six. I always blame Bucky. And you can blame Clint. Turns out Nate has had the pox recently.”

“Have you checked Joey?”

“He’s fine at the moment. Maybe he has my enhanced immune system so is not prone to infections that easily.”

“He got the sniffles.”

“Point. I’ll keep an eye out. Now, you rest. Watch TV. Do you want me to call the school and tell them you need to push your test back?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I could read my textbook and pray that information does go in.”

-o-

By ten that morning, Wanda was going insane. Being bed bound was not exactly fun, especially when she was reminded of when she was put on bed rest for pre-eclampsia. The hours seemed to stretch out for an eternity, even when she was watching some mindless sitcoms on Netflix. By the tenth episode of _Fuller House_ she was humming the theme tune without realising it. She had tried to read her textbook but then ended up resorting to hitting the book towards her head, hoping that the information would go in and tackle the itch on her nose.

“Remind me to murder Clint,” Wanda commented to herself. At that point, she picked up her phone and decided to FaceTime Pietro. “How you holding up down there?”

“ _I am having the time of my life_ ,” Pietro answered plainly. His spots were mainly on his cheeks. “ _We should have rubbed Novak Slomvinska all over us when we were five_.”

“Mum would have killed us, especially since my appendix blew the same week. I don’t think she needed to panic over you in addition to me.”

“ _How do you even remember that Novak had chicken pox the same week you had appendicitis_?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking back to see if anyone we knew had chicken pox as kids. That stuck in my head for some reason.”

“ _You need to get out of that room_.”

“And get my son sick? Rather not risk it. Even if I have to lose my sanity to another episode of _Fuller House_.”

-o-

Steve, as it turned out, was really good at making soup. Steve was a decent cook but since Wanda was usually the one that cooked in the house, he never really had the space to stretch his wings in the kitchen. He had cooked her and Pietro a chicken noodle broth, a recipe that he had often as a child since it was what his mother fed him when he was sick. Which was a lot.

“I need a new Netflix show,” Wanda commented. “My brain is melting from mindless sitcoms.”

“Isn’t there not a US history documentary series? That might help you study.”

“Maybe, but that does mean having the trawl through the whole Netflix catalogue, and I can’t do that with oven mitts on.”

“I’ll have look for you.”

“Nah. I’ll just fall asleep.”

At that point, Joey began to whine over the baby monitor. Steve picked up his IPad and saw Joey standing up in his crib. “I better see what is up with him.”

“We have infant Tylenol in the medicine cabinet if he has a fever.”

“You think it’s a fever?”

“It’s not like him to start crying to attention.”

-o-

Wanda predicted that Joey did have a fever, and it was then that Steve realised that if Wanda and Pietro had been exposed to Nathanial’s chicken pox, then Joey must have been exposed too. His crying seemed to settle after the Tylenol kicked in and he was drowsy enough to get a cuddle off his mother. This also meant that Pietro was allowed out of his room since the risk of contamination was over. However, they were stuck with watching Joey’s favourite movie _Moana_ in the living room _._ He found the ‘You’re Welcome’ scene especially hilarious. Wanda did enjoy it at least to tolerate it after the fiftieth time in a month. However, Pietro had somehow evaded seeing the film.

“ _What can I say except you’re welcome for the tides, the sun, the sky_!” the film sang.

“Well, I never thought I would hear The Rock sing,” Pietro commented.

“You do know that he does songs where he disses his wrestling opponents?” Wanda asked.

“In a Disney movie…” Pietro added unsure.

“Ht as two tums … the sky,” Joey sang in broken words though once it got the final verse, the words started to garble together as he could not keep up with the speed of the music. It was not really helped by him not quite being able to put words together in a sentence. He could say ‘Mama’, ‘Dada’, ‘Joseph’ and ‘Pet-ro’. Pietro was not too worried if his name was mispronounced, since his mother had explained that it took him until he was five to actually be able to pronounce his own name.

“Not bad for a fourteen-month-old.”

“Maybe he has got his father’s brains,” Wanda commented.

“Hey, I have brains.”

“Fancy a game of _Connect Four_ to prove your point?”

-o-

“Yes!” Wanda celebrated when she got her third four-in-a-row. Pietro had only gotten one game complete.

“I’m not sure how this game proves how smart you are,” Steve commented.

“It’s about strategy and coming up with solutions to presented problems.”

“Okay.”

“Right, my go to go first,” Pietro announced as he put his yellow counter in the blue cage. Wanda thought carefully and then put her red counter about three columns across. “What is the point when I can do this?” Pietro put his counter to the left of the counter he put in on the previous turn. Wanda then put her next counter right by that counter. He grumbled. “Aren’t you meant to be studying for your social studies test?”

A look of dread came over Wanda’s face and she immediately rushed to grab her textbook from upstairs.


	8. Home

Chapter Eight

Steve and Wanda looked at the two swatches of grey-ish blue on the wall, trying to decide between the two shades. However, Steve thought they both looked the same.

“So we have Costal Grey or Quintessential Blue,” Wanda said pointing to each of the colours.

“Or grey-ish blue,” Steve commented.

“I think the Quintessential Blue looks bluer though.”

“I don’t know Wanda, you choose.”

“You know Bucky better than I do.”

“Maybe the ‘Costal Grey’.”

“Are you going to take this seriously?”

“I am. I just can’t see the difference between the two. I said I would paint it, not pick from the same colour.”

“Fine. Costal Grey it is.” Steve nodded and began loading the paint tray. “I know it sounds like I am being weird about this, but I want it to be perfect for Bucky when he comes here.”

“Doll,” Steve began walking to her and cupping her face, “it will be perfect. I think considering that he has been in a hospital for the last ten months, a little disorganisation will be welcome.”

“I know, but I want him to have his own space that is not cluttered and that he has the space to think. There are four other people in this house and sometimes we can be climbing on top of one another.”

At that point, they heard something smash in the living room. Knowing Joey was playing in there, they quickly ran. Joey was not injured. The vase, however, was another story.

“Oopps,” Joey spoke softly.

“I think we need to put everything breakable at a higher level,” Wanda commented.

“Or get him a playpen,” Steve retorted.

-o-

It was later that day that Steve – with some help from Pietro – managed to get the room completely painted, which then meant they could move the furniture in the next day and be right on track before Bucky moved in. Wanda managed to sort of the fabrics while Pietro spent the best part of a week putting flatpack furniture together, and then trying to get it through the narrow hallways in order to get it into Bucky’s room, though since he and Steve were broad shouldered, it was not easy. It was actually so comical, Wanda filmed it and shared it with Natasha, who then shared it with Pepper, and then it got around the whole Avengers team still on Earth.

“What does Bucky like to eat?” Wanda asked the morning Bucky was due to return home.

“Why?” Steve asked.

“I’m just thinking that he would prefer some actual home cooking for once. You said that his mother was from Romania right?”

“Yes? What were you thinking?”

“Eastern European food is the most comforting in the world. I thought maybe something like paprikash.”

“I think he’ll like that. Listen, I best get going since he’s getting out at eleven.”

“Okay, I’ll get started on dinner then,” Wanda replied as Steve pecked her lips. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

-o-

“I know you want him to feel welcomed, but don’t you think you are going a little overboard?” Pietro asked.

“Well, I’m not throwing a party, just a small family meal,” Wanda responded as she added the spices to the dish. “I don’t think it’s going overboard.”

“If you say so.”

“Look, I know it seems like I am going overboard but he hasn’t experienced a normal family life for seventy-three years. Probably more than that since he was drafted into World War Two. I think just having normalcy is going to help him recover further.”

“Well, what HYRDA did to him is far worst than what did to us, so I guess you have a point.”

“It’s funny. I spent years with the trauma of what happened during the Yugoslav Wars and the bombing, and then Ultron but what they did to us in HYDRA….”

“Maybe we could do a group therapy session – how HYDRA fucked us over.” Wanda chuckled slightly. “What is going to happen about the wedding though?”

“Well, it’s sort of up to Bucky. I think everything detailed in the trial and AA has made Tony see that HYDRA as the real killers, and Steve did mention something of an invite… but it’s whether Bucky feels comfortable enough to attend.”

“I suppose if Stark is not making it difficult, then maybe there can be some sort of olive branch.”

“Hopefully, or else it is going to be like the time that Mum fell out with Aunt Teodora where we were piggy in the middle.”

-o-

It was later that afternoon that Steve came up with the idea to do a catch-up session with Bucky on all the things he had missed, though rather than go through a detailed history of the world in nine hours, Wanda decided to start off with a movie night. Steve managed to find his book where he put all the pop culture he needed to catch up on, finding _Star Trek_ , _Star Wars_ and _Rocky._ Wanda decided on _Star Wars_ , though that then started an argument between her and Pietro over what order they saw all the films in (considering there were nine – excluding _The Clone Wars_ animated movie – and not released in chronological order).

“It should be four, five, six, then one, two three, _Rogue One_ , then seven and eight,” Pietro argued.

“What sense does that make? _Rogue One_ and _The Force Awakens_ have no correlation between the two,” Wanda countered. “Besides, if you do one after six then it makes no sense since you are just going back to the beginning and then skipping forward to the sequels.”

“I never realised how serious people have to see movies,” Bucky whispered to Steve. Steve smirked.

“If you were going to go by release order shouldn’t _Rogue One_ come after _The Force Awakens_ anyway.”

“Can I just contribute something?” Steve asked. “Do we really need to watch _Phantom Menace_ and _Attack of the Clones_?”

“What do you mean?” Pietro asked.

“I’m just thinking, _Revenge of the Sith_ kind of gets to the point of what the prequels intended to show more than the first two. And I do agree with Pietro somewhat we should see four and five first. However, Sam found a new method of watching the films: _Rogue One_ , four, five, three, six, seven, eight.”

“That-” Wanda began before she then thought about the logic behind the order. It establishes Darth Vader as a legitimate threat of a villain before the twist at the end of _Empire Strikes Back_ , then shows how Vader came to be, then continues the story. “That sounds like a good idea. We don’t have to suffer through Jar Jar Binks.”

As Wanda went to grab _Rogue One_ from the DVD case, Bucky asked, “There is a film called Jar Jar Binks?”

“No, that is…. I think he is meant to be a character,” Pietro asked.

-o-

The next day, everyone in the house was preparing for the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Steve was nervous. It was the first time that Tony and Bucky were going to meet since the incident in Siberia, though there hadn’t been a lack of communication between the two. As part of his therapy, Bucky was asked to write a letter to Tony explaining everything that happened, how much he hated himself for what happened in December 1991 and that he would understand if he was never forgiven. Tony, as part of his AA recovery, reached step eight by apologising for what happened in Siberia. No one excepted them to be best buddies but given that things had been healed over the last year, keeping the peace was important.

“Do you think this is too much?” Wanda asked when she showed Steve the dress she was wearing for the evening. She had a black dress on with lace as an overlay, and her hair tied into a ballerina bun.

“Absolutely not, you look great.”

“I feel underdressed. The last time I wore something like this was three years ago. I don’t know if I should pull it up or down.”

Steve chuckled as he pressed a kiss to her lips. “You look great in anything. Besides, I’ve seen you with less fabric on.”

“You’ve seen me with no fabric on. I think I am just a little self-conscious and not used to wearing things like this anymore.”

“Exactly. By the fifth tequila you will not care. Enjoy yourself.”

“Okay, and you guys stay out of trouble. I don’t want a repeat of the incident where you left Tony in Coney Island.”

“I did not do anything. That was on Sam and Clint.”

“It’s probably a good thing that Tony doesn’t drink anymore because explaining to Pepper how you lost him the day before the wedding would be very bad news for you.”

“Well, Tony said he had come up with a good idea that involves no alcohol, so I am curious to see where the driver takes us.”

-o-

“This can’t be it,” Pietro commented when he saw them parked outside a bowling alley. “Bowling?”

“Well, it is not the worst idea,” Steve replied. “Come on. It will be fun.”

“For who?”

As they got out of the car, Steve explained to Bucky, “The last time we went bowling, Pietro only scored forty-seven.”

“Yep, make fun of the cripple.” As they walked it, they found the rest of the party grabbing some bowling shoes. “I genuinely thought you were joking.”

“Well, we thought it was pointless going to a bar since many of us are not drinking,” Rhodey answered.

“And there is nothing wrong with a little friendly competition,” Tony added.

“Don’t you remember the Christmas that you would not speak to us because no one got your drawing in Articulate,” Steve asked.

“That was four years ago. And it was a perfectly way of explaining what was on the card.”

“He is a sponge and his name is Bob?”

“Okay, now that everyone is here, we should pick teams,” Clint interrupted.

“What do you say, groom versus best man?” Tony asked Rhodey.

“You are on,” Rhodey replied. “Okay, Wilson you in?”

“Sure,” Sam replied.

“You’re going to regret it,” Pietro muttered.

“Fine, I pick Barton,” Tony retorted.

“Hold on, there is only seven of us,” Sam realised when he saw Bucky. “How is that going to work out?”

“I don’t mind sitting out of this game. Maybe I could be a…” Bucky started.

“Referee?”

“Yeah.”2

“Okay,” Rhodey began. “Pietro, might be good for some speed.”

“And that leaves me with Rogers,” Tony observed with a smirk, knowing that Pietro was useless at bowling.

-o-

“Why are the nightclubs packed on a Wednesday?” Wanda asked when she saw the line to get into Euphoria.

“I have no idea,” Natasha replied. “At least we get the VIP section to ourselves.”

“I suppose, but still.”

“Hey, at least it tells us the bar is good.” The doorman let the two in as soon as they walked to the door, and they were led to the VIP section of the club. The club had a very laboratory-esc feel to it, since many of the surfaces looked easy to clean. “I thought a place called Euphoria would be more luxurious – kind of like Christian Grey’s red room.”

“I can’t believe you actually made me watch all three movies.”

“I bought wine to make up for it.”

“When is Pepper getting here?”

“In a minute. In the meantime, we should get some wine into us.”

“I still don’t know whether I should tug this dress down or pull it up.”

“Relax, you look good. Soak it in for once. What do you want to drink?”

“Rosé zinfandel.”

“Oh thank god, I thought those punks on the door were going to lock you guys out like they did me,” Darcy announced her presence as she walked up to the two of them.

“No, they just let us through,” Natasha replied. “How long you been here?”

“Let’s see, three shots of tequila, one glass of white and a double vodka. About five minutes.” Wanda and Natasha blinked at her. “What? Anyway, I heard that the Cleveland Cavaliers are meant to be here tonight.”

“That probably explains why it is so busy,” Wanda commented.

“Why would there be this big a group for a basketball team?” Natasha asked.

“One of them is dating a Kardashian – though since she has just had a kid, I am hardly expected them to turn up,” Darcy answered. “Axel, three shots here please.”

“Axel?” Wanda questioned under her breath. She took a look at the tequila and took it down in one sip. “Wow, that is some mouthwash.”

“Five more please,” Natasha asked the bartender.

“Oh thank god, I thought I was lost,” Laura exclaimed.

“Well, you found us now drink up,” Natasha replied handing a shot over. “Hey, here she is. The bride to be.” Pepper smiled as she approached the VIP area. “How are we feeling this evening?”

“After the day I have had, I need this,” Pepper answered as Wanda handed over a shot.

“Right, to Pepper and Tony. May tonight bring some laughs and blackmail material,” Natasha toasted, raising her shot of tequila. “To Pepper.”


	9. Plans

Chapter Nine

The morning after the bachelor and bachelorette parties, Wanda had a serious hangover. After the fifth shot of tequila, Wanda was pass the point of caring. The last thing she remembered was getting into the Uber and somehow ending up in bed. Not that she got much in the way of sleep. Joey managed to climb out of his crib and into his parent’s bed. Not that Wanda realised at first.

“Steve. Why have you put Joey in our bed?” she asked groggily.

Steve poked his head around the en-suite door and looked confused, “I didn’t.”

“Then why is he poking me in the face?” Steve walked over to the bed where he found his son poking Wanda in the face with a smile on his face. “It can’t have been Pietro or Bucky could it?”

“No. I think someone must have climbed out of his crib.”

“Ugh… you know what this means right?”

“Yes: we have to convert the crib into a toddler bed.”

Wanda grumbled as she climbed out of bed and picked Joey up. “You’re sixteen-months-old, how did you manage to do that?” Joey did not verbalise an answer but proceeded to give his mother a wet kiss on her cheek. “It’s a good thing you are cute.”

-o-

“So how did it go last night?” Wanda asked as she passed an allen key over to Steve.

“Actually pretty great. Tony offered to build Bucky a new arm,” Steve replied. “I know. I’m surprised too.”

“Well, at least there will be peace for the time being. Didn’t think it would reach that far though.”

“Like I said, I was surprised.”

“You remember when we first got this crib?”

“I know. He looked like a little bug when we first put him inside.”

“He was a little peanut wasn’t he.”

Wanda’s heart ached a little. It felt like it was only yesterday that he was being rested on her chest, yelling and covered in blood and mucus. He was the cutest alien that Wanda has ever seen. She was wondering where her little baby had gone. He was a now full-blown child with a toddler bed.

Half an hour later, the crib had been converted into a toddler bed, and Steve and Wanda watched as Joey inspected it. His little dark head kept flopping onto the pillow and standing up again.

“What is he testing?” Wanda asked.

“No idea,” Steve replied. “Let’s see how he goes around nap time.”

Wanda wasn’t think much about how Joey would take to his new bed around nap time. She was thinking about having another baby.

-o-

When Wanda expressed her desire to Steve, the reaction was one of total surprise. Steve had no idea what to say to this, and before he could ask whether Wanda was serious, Wanda said that it was stupid and continued getting ready for the rehearsal dinner.

Needless to say, the car ride to the hotel was a little awkward. Wanda spent most of it on her phone and giving one-word answers to Steve. Pietro and Bucky picked up on it, though when questioned, Wanda insisted nothing was wrong.

The tension was even picked up when they entered the function room.

“What the hell is up with them two?” Clint asked Pietro.

“Beats me. They were fine about two hours ago,” Pietro responded with a shrug. “Is that shrimp?”

“They’re giving them out.”

“Nice.”

“You do know we’re meant to be eating in half hour?” Laura asked.

“It’s food on Stark. I will wrap those babies up and take them home.”

Across the room, Wanda was getting a drink from the bar, “Rosé zinfandel please.”

“You know you could slice the weird tension between you and Rogers with a knife,” Natasha commented.

“It’s nothing. I just said something insane and freaked Steve out.”

“What did you say?”

“I want another baby.”

“And how did Steve feel about it?”

“I think I took him by surprise. He didn’t really say much until I said that it was just me and my stupid hormones. Joey climbed out of his crib so we had to convert to a toddler bed.”

“And you were wondering where your little baby has gone.”

“Yeah. And then I just said I want to have another and then we haven’t mentioned anything since.”

“Okay, I am going to refer this one to an expert. Laura!” Wanda grumbled about letting the whole place know, though Laura did sound like a better person to speak to about this than Natasha. “Wanda’s baby hormones are going nuts and she needs to speak to someone who knows about baby hormones.”

“Oh… is this the ‘I may want another baby’ moment?” Laura asked.

“I wish I hadn’t said anything now,” Wanda muttered. “But yes. I think I want another.”

“Joey is sixteen-months-old right?” Laura asked. “Well, I had Lila when Cooper was three and Nathaniel when Lila was four. So we had some years before we planned for the next one.”

“So you are saying I should wait a couple years before I think about having another?”

“Not necessarily. If you conceived a baby today then Joey would be two by the time he or she will be born. I think it might be worth thinking about whether you could really cope with two young children.”

“Thanks Laura. That’s actually good advice.”

Meanwhile, Steve wasn’t listening to Sam as he chatted to Pietro and Bucky about the next mission that was planned for the Avengers. He should be, since he was leading it, but his mind was on Wanda’s declaration. Another baby was a huge deal, especially for them and where they were in their life. Even then, he didn’t think about not having another child.

“Cap, where is your head at?” Sam asked.

“Nowhere,” Steve replied.

“Him and Wanda had a fight,” Pietro commented.

“We did not have a fight. She just said something but dropped the subject.”

“Is that it?” Bucky asked. “You haven’t really spoken all evening.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’ll probably kill me if I mention it?”

Before Sam, Pietro and Bucky could question further, someone tapped a glass and it was time for speeches. Steve checked out again and looked across the room towards Wanda. The woman that broke his heart the night after Sokovia, the woman he danced around with for the best part of three months before they finally admitted their feelings, the woman who he watch give birth to his son, the woman he married. They had been through hell and back to get to where they were. They deserved a little happiness.

-o-

The next day, Steve and Wanda finally spoke about what was said the previous night, and they both agreed to start trying for another baby. However, before they could start trying, the bridal party arrived at the house to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding went as smooth as possible. Everyone was present and correct, wedding dress remained clean and no interruptions (save Joey yelling out at random moments – mostly when he spotted his mother at the front). 

Everyone was in a happy bubble that no one could burst at that moment.

Mid-way through the dinner, the speeches arrived. Tony delivered a sincere and sweet speech that thanked Rhodey, the bridesmaids and especially Pepper for everything that had led to this day. Rhodey’s speech consisted of some character assassination, though hilarious.

Finally it came to the party and for the tensions of the day to finally leave. Most of them.

“Looks like someone could do with a nap,” Wanda commented when she received a fussy and grumpy looking Joey from Steve.

“Maybe we should take him up to the hotel room and let him nap, and then maybe we could think about…”

“Hold on. I was speaking to Laura. We need to get me checked out before we do anything.”

“Is this because of the pre-eclampsia?”

“Partly. It might be worth getting a work up of what risks I we have to expect. I had pre-eclampsia and Joey was five weeks premature. We don’t know if it’s a part of my family history or whether it was stress.”

“That’s a good plan at least. I don’t really want to see you unwell again.”

“I don’t fancy sitting in a hospital bed for weeks either.”

Steve pressed a kiss to Wanda’s forehead and wrapped his arms around her. “Let’s book as soon as possible.”

-o-

They managed to get an appointment for two days after the wedding. They did a blood test, a blood pressure, PAP test and a pelvic exam. They also took Wanda’s weight and height measurements as well as looking at Wanda’s medical record.

“So you gave birth sixteen-months ago?” the GYN/OB asked.

“Yes,” Wanda answered.

“And have you experienced any post-partum complications?”

“Nothing that the doctors in Wakanda informed me about.”

“Okay, so from looking at your records and looking at your test results, you don’t have any issues that would prevent you from getting pregnant. However, there is the case of your blood pressure.”

“What’s wrong with her blood pressure?” Steve asked taking Wanda’s hand.

“At the moment, it is within the normal healthy range. However, it is 120 over 80, which is on the upper end and any higher than that, you will encounter problems. I did actually find something that will explain why you had pre-eclampsia in your last pregnancy. It says on your medical record that you and your brother were delivered by caesarean section at thirty weeks gestation.”

“Right?” Wanda replied wondering where this was going.

“Your mother had been diagnosed with eclampsia and it was safer for the three of you that she gave birth at thirty weeks. My point is that you have a family history of pre-eclampsia. Given that it was also your first pregnancy, those contributing factors had a lot to do with why you developed the condition during your last pregnancy.”

“Okay, so would you say that me getting pregnant again would be risky?”

“I’m going to be blunt and say yes. There is a sixteen-percent chance you can develop the condition again. However, there are steps that you can take to help reduce the risk. You can keep a close eye on your sodium intake, between twelve and forty weeks, you will be given a low dose aspirin to take everyday, and just take it easy.”

“So, is that a yes?” Wanda asked.

“You are at a healthy BMI, nothing showed up in your blood that I would be concerned about, your PAP and pelvic exams were fine. You’re good, so long as we keep you monitored.”

Later, Steve and Wanda were sitting in a diner where Wanda was looking through every item on the list, thinking about which of the two salads she should eat. Steve put his hand over hers and squeezed it.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

“I was born ten weeks premature.”

“I heard. I take it that you never had any photos of you when you were born.”

“I just did not know that my mother delivered us so soon. Pietro and I… We’ve been fighting to live since we were born. The GYN gave me my medical record. I was two pounds three ounces, had jaundice and extreme breathing difficulties.”

“You came through okay though. The record says you were discharged quite quickly considering everything.”

“I guess. I just hate to think what could have happened if Joey was earlier than he was.”

“Well, he wasn’t even term and he passed his health tests with no issues. You having some doubts.”

“I think its put a lot in perspective, but I still want another baby. If we keep getting me checked out, then hopefully it should be okay.” Wanda leaned over to press a kiss to Steve’s lips and he smiled back. “We’ll reach the hurdle if we get to it.”


	10. New

Chapter Ten

“Maximoff is down, someone get a neuro specialist. It looks like it is a concussion,” a nurse yelled as they guided Wanda to the medical bay.

“I need to help my friends,” Wanda said trying to get out of the bed.

“Ms Maximoff, you need to rest. If you hit your head again, you could have severe brain damage. The guys on the ground are fine. They got this,” the nurse argued. Wanda eventually gave in and lay back in the bed and let the nurses check her out.

“Its Mrs Rogers by the way,” Wanda insisted.

“Well, at least your memory is not compromised. We just need to check you for any internal injuries.” She grabbed the ultrasound monitor and scanned her lungs and heart. “Okay, that is all clear. I just need to check you liver and other abdominal organs.” The nurse moved down pass the liver and then over the abdomen. Just the she zoomed in on something. “Mrs Rogers, have you experienced any gaps in your menstrual cycle?”

“Um… my last period was… five weeks ago.”

The nurse turned the ultrasound television towards Wanda and pointed to what looked to be a small sack in the middle of her uterus. “I think you might be pregnant.” Wanda’s vision was a little blurry, but the image did look like the first ultrasound with Joey. “I’m going to run a blood test to confirm.”

Wanda just nodded and continued to look at the screen. Slowly she broke into a smile.

-o-

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Wanda commented when she saw Steve walk over to her. He pressed a kiss on her head.

“Um… I might have,” he said.

“Any more of your war buddies come back from the dead?”

“Not quite. You remember when I told you what went down with the Battle of New York?” Wanda nodded. “You remember when I spoke about a man called Phil Coulson? Well, he’s back from the dead.”

“Wow.”

“Tony looks pissed. We’re meeting Coulson and his gang of S.H.I.E.L.D agents in a minute so I might need to help restrain Tony from killing Coulson again.”

“Okay.”

“How’s your head?”

“Bit sore.”

“I’ll let you rest then.”

Steve pressed a kiss to her hand and walked out of the medical room. Eventually he came across Tony coming off the phone with Pepper.

“You know, it’s times like this where I wish I still could drink.”

“I know the feeling. Have you called your sponsor?”

“Yeah. Got the feeling out of the system. This has Fury written all over it.”

“I know, but considering that he is underground right now, we can’t ask what they hell is going on here.”

“Coulson probably has the answers.”

“He died. He died, and we fought aliens. Funny, I told Loki that another person he pissed off was Coulson.”

“Maybe we should hear him out before we commit murder.”

“Good idea, because I want all the answers.”

-o-

After the meeting where many strong words were exchanged, Steve walked back slowly to the hospital room. Wanda could just about make him out looking through the window into Bruce Banner’s hospital room speaking to Natasha. Wanda wondered what they were talking about, but she had a guess that it was relating to Natasha’s relationship with Bruce. Eventually, Natasha went into Bruce’s hospital room (also drawing the curtains so she and Bruce could have some privacy) and Steve walked into hers.

Steve gave an exhausted smile and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Wanda smiled softly and took her hand, “So you know that feeling I had that I shouldn’t go on this mission?”

“You saved Bruce, Natasha and Tony. You did great all things considered.”

“It’s not that.”

She put Steve’s hand on her stomach. Steve looked confused for a moment, then the dots connected. Steve broke out into a huge smile and he kissed Wanda hard on the lips. Wanda giggled and pulled out the scan photo and the blood test.

“Here,” she said handing over the pieces of paper. “So that is the blood test that tells me I’m pregnant, and here is the scan that spotted it.” Steve squinted at the scan trying to find the baby until Wanda pointed to a sack. “There: it’s only the size of a sesame seed and probably doesn’t even look like a baby, but there it is.”

“Oh my God, are you okay? How are you feeling?”

“Well, aside from the pain in the back of my head, not too bad. I think I am about five weeks along. You okay?”

“More than okay. I’m thrilled.”

“I can tell. So, how did the meeting go?”

“Oh that… Basically Fury has lied to us for six years. Coulson was dead during the Battle of New York, but then brought back to life by the means of… I think its Kree blood, whatever a Kree is.”

“Alien blood I guess.”

“Apparently it was an experiment where if any of the Avengers died, they would be able to bring us back.”

“Wait…”

“They’ve scrapped it. It caused too many side effects.”

“Okay. So what happens now?”

“Um… we’re rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“You’re kidding me right?”

“I know it sounds insane. We’ll work out the kinks, but we do have a foundation at least.”

-o-

A few hours later they were back in New York with Wanda told to rest to ease her concussion. Pietro and Bucky had noticed the sort of weird bubble surrounding Steve and Wanda but did not bother questioning them since they were all exhausted. Pietro had fallen asleep in their chair while Bucky had gone straight to his room. They had gone to get Joey from the childminder and even he was asleep.

“I’ll put him to bed if you want,” Steve told Wanda as she sat on the sofa.

“No, I want to cuddle my son,” she replied. Steve smiled and he gently passed Joey over to her and sat down next to her. “I wonder how he’s going to react to a new sibling.”

“I don’t know. We don’t know what to expect with him.”

“I don’t think he is spoilt is he?”

“No… maybe. I haven’t seen him become possessive over us, so maybe he’ll be cool with someone having more attention.”

“So when do we start telling people?”

“Maybe when we feel ready. I still doesn’t feel real.”

“I know.” Wanda rested her head on Steve’s shoulder. “We should find an OB, just so I can get myself monitored as soon as possible.”

“Hey, don’t worry. The nurse said your blood pressure was fine at the moment, so don’t worry.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “Like you said, we’ll reach the hurdle when we get to it.”

Wanda looked up and pressed a kiss to Steve’s lips. “It’s a good thing that I have a concussion, or else we would be having some really dirty sex right now.”

-o-

After a few days, Wanda recovered from her concussion, but then came the wave of nausea and vomiting. Steve did his best to sooth her, holding her hair and rubbing her back in circles as she hurled into the toilet. When she thought it had finally passed, she sat back against the bath and sipped the water Steve gave her.

“At least you only have a few weeks of this left,” Steve commented as he sat next to her.

“I'll be that woman that gets it longer,” she muttered. “I was nauseous with Joey but never this sick.”

“I'm guessing each pregnancy is different.”

“Well, I am craving sweet things which is the opposite of last time.”

Steve glanced at his phone and googled ways to relieve morning sickness. “Apparently sniffing lemons can help with the nausea. And ginger ale and salted snacks.”

“Maybe we should keep a stash up here.”

“Not a bad idea.” Steve brushed the damp strands of hair out her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Need a shower?”

“In a moment. What are you up to today?”

“Meeting the Secretary of State to pitch the new S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Do you think she'd go for it?”

“We've worked the kinks out between us so hopefully we should be good to go.”

“I'll try to pop in on Pepper. Gets me some air at least.”

-o-

“I'm actually glad you're here,” Pepper commented as she led Wanda through to the main penthouse. “I need to ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?” Wanda replied.

“So, you know how Tony and I can't have kids at all? Well, we thought we would look into adoption, and we thought you would be the best person to write our recommendation letter.”

“Adoption... That's...”

“Big. I know. I spent hours last night getting as much information as I can and there is a lot to consider and hoops to jump through.”

“Where do you even start?”

“Well, we have two options: domestic or intercountry adoption.”

“So, you adopt a baby from the US or you get a baby from another country?”

“Essentially but we don't even know which we would prefer.”

“I'm guessing the logistics of an overseas adoption is a lot less straightforward than adopting here.”

“Tony and I need to work out the kinks but if you could do that letter it should get the ball rolling whichever way we decide.”

“Of course, I will do it; you guys deserve it.”

“Thanks Wanda. It feels a bit easier this time.”

Wanda knew the problems that Tony and Pepper had back in 2015 and 2016 with trying to have their own child, which transpired that Tony was completely sterile. Wanda felt a little guilty that she and Steve were able to conceive their baby with little effort (Wanda estimated that they must have conceived about a week after they started trying) while their friends were struggling.

Then Wanda started crying. It was more weeping than full blown sobs but it was enough to dumbfound Pepper.

“Hey what's up?” the taller woman asked handing Wanda a tissue.

“I don't know. I'm guess I am just so happy for you,” Wanda replied laughing a little. It looked like her hormones had kicked in and were screwing with her emotions. “Sorry. I did not mean to start crying.”

“I’ve had weirder reactions to good news so don’t worry.”

-o-

Wanda sat out in the garden, revelling the in the last few hours of sunlight. Steve was not home yet, which meant that the meeting was going on far longer than planned. Wanda was sat on the swing while Pietro and Bucky played with Joey (in an attempt to get the last be of energy out of him) with her mind a little away from what was happening. She may have accidently given away that she was pregnant to Pepper, though if Pepper did suspect anything she did not mention it.

“DA-DEE!” Joey exclaimed when he saw his father walk down the steps towards the garden. Steve smiled brightly as Joey leaped into his arms.

“Hey buddy,” Steve said holding his hand out for Joey to give him a high five. “That was a fun meeting.”

“Did we get the approval?” Bucky asked.

“Five hours later than planned. Secretary Brockman was not sure about who was running S.H.I.E.L.D out of the five of us.”

“So… what exactly is the plan?” Pietro asked.

“Coulson is director, Natasha and I are head of operations, and Tony is doing the funding.”

“It took you five extra hours to work that out?”

“Let’s just say that Brockman was not overly keen on Natasha taking charge. She wanted me to do it.”

“And you didn’t want to do it?” Wanda asked walking up to him.

“Guys, can I speak to Wanda alone?” Bucky and Pietro nodded and they walked up to the house. Wanda sat on the swing and Steve sat next to her. “My father died before I was born, and my mother raised me all by myself. If I was hurt or killed, I don’t want you to raise Joey and the new baby by yourself.”

“That makes sense I guess, but I don’t really want to hold you back.”

“You’re not. Five years ago, I would have jumped at the chance, but I did not really have much back then to keep me grounded. I’m putting you, Joey, and whoever this little one turns out to be.” Steve put his free hand on her belly. Wanda put her hand on top of his and press her lips to his. “I probably should have mentioned that sooner during the meeting?”

“Wait, do Tony and Nat know about the baby?”

“No. I just mentioned you and Joey. I think they got it.”

“Well, I had a bit of hormonal weeping at Pepper’s. I’m not sure she figured it out though so don’t mention it.” Steve pressed his lips on her head and wrapped his arm around her. “My first check-up is in two weeks.”

“Good. That way we can keep you both healthy.”


	11. Shock

Chapter Eleven

“Um, why do we have low sodium salt?” Pietro asked when he picked up the salt to put on his mash potato.

“The doctor when I hit my head said my BP was borderline high, so she told me to reduce my sodium intake,” Wanda answered. It wasn’t a total lie. Her blood pressure was still measuring 120 over 80 when she hit her head so Wanda knew she had to take action now to prevent her developing pre-eclampsia again. Pietro was still unaware that he was getting a new niece or nephew and Wanda thought it was best until she was at least eight weeks to tell her brother, hence his confusion of the switch to no sodium. “It tastes exactly the same but has potassium rather than sodium.”

Pietro shrugged and poured the salt onto the potatoes. Wanda looked over at Steve and he gave a small wink. Pietro did not notice, and asked, “So, where are we with S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“Ah, that reminds me. We have to go through some physicals with you guys,” Steve answered.

“Really?” Wanda asked.

“I did transfer a lot of the Avengers data records, so they just want to update it.”

“Fine by me,” Pietro responded.

“And me,” Bucky added.

Wanda spooned a heap of potato into her mouth and looked at Steve. She knew she had to confide her pregnancy to someone higher than Steve because of health and safety reasons. She could not go out into the field because of her pregnancy due to it being too dangerous. However, she did not feel ready yet to tell anyone.

It was later when they were getting ready for bed that Wanda voiced her concern to Steve. “I know we have to tell either Coulson or Natasha, but I’m worried that telling someone would jinx it before we go for the scan.”

“Well, we still have a week until S.H.I.E.L.D is rebooted and they won’t drag anyone into missions until they are cleared. I haven’t seen the rota but they seem to be going by alphabet, so you may not be called in until after the opened.”

 “Can you make sure of that?”

“Hey, what are you worried about?”

“Nothing. I guess I am just a little too superstitious.”

“Do you want me to tell him? That way it won’t jinx anything.”

“Do you think that wouldn’t?” Steve smiled and then pressed his lips against Wanda’s and she pressed herself further into him. “Okay. Tell Coulson. That way we can ensure I don’t get enrolled on missions.”

-o-

Steve took a deep breath and he knocked the door of what was going to be Coulson’s office.

“Yeah?” Coulson called through the door. “Ah, Steve. I was about to call you. I have the rotas for the physicals ready for your approval.”

“Great. Um, about that. I need to tell you something that will probably come up on Wanda’s physical.”

“Is it serious?”

“Serious for her not to be put on active duty: she’s pregnant.” There was a pause before Steve continued. “We were trying for a few weeks before Beijing, and we only found out on that day. We wanted to see if everything was fine with the pregnancy before we told anyone.”

“Well, all I can say is congratulations.”

“Thanks. I just wanted to let you know first-hand because it is better from the horse’s mouth than from the doctor.”

“How is Wanda?”

“The first appointment is next week, but other than the normal symptoms, it’s going okay I guess. We had complications when expecting Joey so we’re just taking it as it goes at the moment.”

The meeting ended with Steve taking the rota for the physicals and walking into what was going to be Wanda’s office. She was looking around, as though she was trying to work out where she was going to put some photos.

“Hey, so Coulson knows and he is cool with it,” Steve announced as he walked into the room. Wanda turned and she smiled softly. “You okay?”

“Not too bad. I was just thinking whether we should have a giant family photo on that wall there,” Wanda responded.

“You know, some people put photos on desks right?”

“Well, it would not be for a while yet. Besides, a giant photo on the wall can’t be broken so easily.”

“From doing what?” Wanda walked over to the door and locked it. She walked back over to Steve and kissed him passionately. Steve murmured between kisses, “Okay, good point.” Steve lifted her up and put her on the desk as she started to unbutton his shirt.

Half an hour later, both of them left the office with pink cheeks. Wanda’s hair looked dishevelled and Steve was in the process of tucking his shirt into his trousers.

“Why we have never done that before I don’t know,” Wanda commented. Steve chuckled and took her hand. “So, I’m off active duty?”

“Yeah. Maternity protocol is for you to return to active duty about a year after the birth. It gives you time to fully recover and enjoy being a mother.”

“Makes sense I guess. Anything about up to the birth?”

“You can still work. You can observe missions and help us out from there.”

“I guess it is better than being shut out. Better for my blood pressure as well since I won’t stress over not knowing if you’re safe.”

-o-

It was a few days later that Wanda noticed something that she could not ignore. She stomach was starting to show. It felt strange to her since she never really started showing with Joey until about four months into the pregnancy, and it meant that she now had to find ways of hiding the bump.

“Maybe it is just because you have already had a baby,” Steve commented.

“Maybe. I just did not think I would really start showing until at least month three.”

“I’m not complaining.”

“You’re not the one who is getting fat.” Steve laughed softly and put his hand on her belly. It did feel soft more than anything, so it just looked like Wanda had overeaten. “I guess it isn’t that noticeable.”

Steve pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Well, at least it is the doctor’s appointment today.”

“I know. Maybe it will actually feel more real.”

And it turned out to be a very good explanation as to why Wanda’s stomach was protruding all of a sudden: it was twins. Despite the surprise, Wanda and Steve did not seem too shocked or worried given that twins did run in the family. What was worrying was when the doctor told them that since the twins were identical, there would be a risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. On top of the risk of the pre-eclampsia and premature birth, Wanda needed some space to think.

She found a park bench to sit down and process the risks before it caused a blood pressure spike. The doctor had mentioned that Wanda would be under extra observation given that having twins already put her into the high-risk category, so that did reassure Wanda a little. Steve gave her five minutes before coming to find her. It broke his heart a little because she looked worried but also kind of happy at the same time. He walked over to her and put his arm around her, planting a kiss on her head. Wanda shuffled closer into him as he said, “It’s going to be okay Doll.” 

“You know I never understood why Mum was so protective over me and not Pietro until now. With Joey, I knew he would be okay. Now I don’t know if either will be okay.” 

“You know what I think? We’ll reach that hurdle if and when we get there. It’s fifteen percent. There is not use in worrying about it especially since your blood pressure will spike. Right now, we should go back to the HQ and celebrate.” 

“I guess that is better than nothing,” Wanda commented taking Steve’s hand. “I’m not going to have fun with going to the doctor’s office every two weeks.”

“Probably an over exaggeration.”

“You think?”

“The next one is not until you are twelve weeks. That’s about a month away.”

“Fair point I suppose. I need to relax and actually enjoy this pregnancy once the morning sickness has gone pass.”

By the time they had gotten back to HQ, the party seemed to be in full swing. Who knew S.H.I.E.L.D agents knew how to party. They were offered some champagne, but when Steve took one and Wanda rejected it, it caught the eye of Natasha. Steve did not notice Natasha asking Wanda if she was pregnant. He did not notice Wanda pulling Natasha aside. Mostly because he had spotted that Pietro was speaking to Daisy, the young Eurasian agent who had helped them out in Beijing, across the room. And he was smiling, and flirting.

“I’m beginning to think that my hyper metabolism is wearing off,” Steve commented to Bucky.

“Why, is it that unusual?” Bucky asked.

“I haven’t seen him flirt with anyone ever.”

“I guess trying to walk again was more important.”

“Point.” He looked around and saw Natasha walk away from Wanda and Wanda looking back at him. “You okay?”

Wanda lent up to his ear and whispered, “Nat knows.”

-o-

It was later that night that Wanda finally told Pietro, though he already guessed judging by the fact his bedroom was below her and Steve’s bathroom and she had been throwing up every morning for the past two weeks. It was only when he said that she was a good mother and that the extra hands she had meant she shouldn’t stress too much that Wanda actually felt a little calmer about the fact she was going to be having two babies in about seven months.

Once Joey felt he was finally satisfied from his rusk, he wanted to go back to bed. She smiled and picked him up, almost groaning from the heaviness of him. “Just a question. Since Bucky more or less knows, should we still tell him?”

“Steve doesn’t know that we know, so get him to tell him.”

Wanda nodded as she went back upstairs. Once Joey was sleeping soundly in his toddler bed, Wanda went back to her room. She smiled when she saw Steve’s sleeping form and she rubbed the bottom of her belly. Pietro was right. They had four pairs of hands to help raise three young children, so it was not as though they were going to struggle. She needed to relax.

When she finally climbed into bed, the shift of the mattress caused Steve to wake. Groggily, he asked, “Time is it?”

“Just gone midnight. Joey was hungry,” Wanda answered turning to face him. “We need to tell Bucky tomorrow about the babies.”

“You sure?”

“Well, the doctor said everything was good. He’s going to notice something sooner or later.”

“Okay, deal.” Wanda pressed a kiss against his lips and snuggled up against him. “You seem more relaxed.”

“I think I just realised we have more help than I thought.”

“We always did.”

-o-

“Yeah, I kind of worked it out,” Bucky replied when Steve told him that Wanda was pregnant and that it was going to be twins. “Not the twin part, the pregnancy.” Steve turned to Wanda, as though he was asking if she mentioned anything. “I saw you put you hand on her stomach. I put two and two together.”

Bucky gave a small smile and returned to his cereal. Steve asked, “So I guess that you are cool with it?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“No reason. What about the twin part?”

“I think it’s great. How are you feeling Wanda?”

“Well, aside from the morning sickness, not too bad,” she answered. “I have read that twins should be born around thirty-seven weeks, so I only have about twenty-nine weeks to go.”

“What about S.H.I.E.L.D?” Pietro asked remembering the fact that they were due at work in an hour.

“I can still work there, but not as an active agent.”

“I suppose that it is better than nothing. You’d probably go insane with boredom.”

“Well, I’m not planning on landing on bedrest again so don’t worry. The house will stay in tack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am planning a new Steve/Wanda story that should hopefully follow them from the end of Civil War through to Infinity War (which much like Rubble will be editing to fit this logic). It is only in the planning stages at the moment so do look out for it when it it published nearer the end of the month. I think I am calling it Infinity and Beyond.


	12. Rappin with Cap

Chapter Twelve

It was week nine when the fatigue started to hit Wanda pretty hard. She had to take at least one thirty minute nap a day, and even then she was falling asleep by eight thirty. Steve was often shaking her awake from the couch so she would sleep in the bed.

“I hate feeling like this,” Wanda complained when she collapsed in her bed. “I feel like these babies are sucking the life out of me.”

“Well, you are their life support,” Steve replied. Wanda smiled a little bit and lifted her night dress up. There was a small swell there and Wanda made a concentric circle around her navel and over the stretch marks she had received when expecting Joey. “I guess it is a good thing it is summer.”

“Says you. Heat waves and morning sickness are not good combinations.”

“You don’t regret it do you?”

“Of course not. It’s just not easy being pregnant, or at least with this pregnancy. I just don’t feel like myself.”

“Is there anything that I can help with?”

“Finding ways for men to have babies perhaps.” Steve chuckled and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Although this is fine.”

-o-

“Here, I got you a green tea,” Steve announced when he walked into Wanda’s office. “What’s Coulson got you working on?”

“Nothing much at the moment. Some sort of Inhuman activity.”

“Potentially dangerous?”

“Not at the moment. The kid just seems confused. I’m just monitoring the situation.”

“So, I was thinking, we need to start putting a nursery together for the babies.”

“Well, we have the spare room upstairs so that helps. We getting a designer in or are you planning o doing it yourself.”

“While it would be easier to get a designer in, I would like to do it myself. We didn’t really get the chance with Joey.”

Given the uncertainty of whether they were going to be able to leave Wakanda, Joey did not get a proper nursery until he was six months old. The flat they rented for a few months wasn’t their home so painting his room in there was pointless. And Wanda loved what Steve had done with Joey’s room in the house so she did trust him to get their twins’ room perfect.

“Sounds a great idea. It’s a good thing that they are identical though, since you don’t have to adapt anything.”

“Maybe try to get some ideas down on what you would like to see and I will do it for you.”

“Am I not getting involved?”

“Well, you are struggling to stay awake at the moment so keeping you awake long enough to paint a wall is going to be difficult.”

“It’s a good thing you brought me some tea then. Though you could have brought me a muffin as well. And yoghurt covered pretzels. And a banana milkshake.”

“Yeah, though exceed your sugar limits by seven times.”

“Probably more than that but that is what your children want.”

“So, any guesses on the gender?”

“I think they’re girls. Mum was a doula and there were these superstitions that could tell what sex you are having.”

“Okay?”

“Remember when I was pregnant with Joey and I had to have everything savoury? I knew he would be a boy by that.”

“So sugar means girls?”

“And the morning sickness and the fact my skin is breaking out. I have also seen three magpies. There is another test I haven’t tried though and that is the ring test.”

“What’s the ring test?”

“I put my wedding ring on a string and is it spins around it is a girl.”

“Or we could just wait for the doctor to confirm it.”

“You don’t believe in superstitions do you?”

“It’s not that I am sceptical but… Okay, I knew a woman who thought she was carrying a boy but it turned out to be a girl and she passed on what she called ‘old wives tales’. I’m just saying it is fifty-fifty on who these babies turn out to be, so I would wait until the doctor can confirm it before we start buying clothes.”

“I suppose. Mind you, if we are girls, we may have to go through everything of Joey’s to see what we can pass down or donate. There is a lot to do.”

“Don’t worry about it so much. We have time to get things sorted.”

Wanda smiled softly and stood up. She wrapped her arms around Steve’s neck and leaned up to kiss him. “Do I tell you every day how much I love you?”

“Of course you do.”

-o-

Natasha had announced that it was girl’s night and thus Steve, Pietro and Bucky had to vacate their own home for the evening. Luckily, they could have their own guys night with Sam, Bruce and Tony while Darcy and Pepper would come to Wanda’s. Which presented a problem when Darcy bought three bottles of wine. Thankfully, Natasha had thought of a plan to swap one of the rose with alcohol free rose so that Wanda would not be caught out before she was ready.

“So how is the adoption process going?” Wanda asked.

“I think we have made a decision: we’re going to go the international route,” Pepper answered. “I know the logistics are not great but a child in need is a child in need wherever they are.”

“Did you ever think about the other options?” Natasha asked. “You know, donation?”

“Yeah, that was part of the big blow out we had before we said we were taking a break. Tony said he felt invalidated and not part of the equation.”

“I can see it from his point of view though: you being impregnated with another person’s sperm because he couldn’t do it made him feel … Inadequate.”

“I’m not sure if I would want kids,” Darcy imputed.

“Well, you still have the mentality of a fourteen year old for a start,” Wanda commented.

“Point. It’s more the idea of being a human life support machine for something for nine months and then pushing it out a small hole.”

“So, it is the pregnancy bit you don’t care for.”

“Well, since you are the only person here who has been pregnant, you tell us.”

Wanda sighed, “It’s not easy. You have to contend with morning sickness for three months, maybe more. Then there is the fatigue which makes you feel like a vampire is draining the life out of you. There is the backache, swollen ankles, heartburn and not knowing whether you should put a blanket on or a bathing suit. And that are all the normal ailments. I was on bed rest because I had pre-eclampsia, which was a bit of a wake up call in terms of my health.”

 

“It makes you think about adoption more I guess,” Natasha commented.

“Mommy,” Joey cooed from the top of the stairs. Wanda got out her seat and went to get Joey. She returned with the toddler on her hip.

“You can tell he is Steve’s child by the way he eats.”

-o-

“You suck at snooker more than you do at bowling,” Bucky commented when Pietro missed the white ball. Pietro looked up and glared. “Except Wii Bowling of course.”

“I never knew he was so competitive,” Bruce commented.

“He was a boxer,” Steve replied. “The only person he would let win was me, mostly because I was too short and weak to beat anyone.”

“Where is Tony by the way? Shouldn’t he be here?”

“He said he had to go somewhere first. He sounded really excited about it.”

“That is not usually a good sign.”

“You never know with Tony.”

“Speak of the devil.” At that point, Tony walked into the bar with a cardboard box in his arms and a smile that was disturbingly gleeful. “What’s in the box?”

“So, remember about six years ago, we were offered to do some PSA stuff?”

“Yes?” Steve answered getting a little worried.

“See, I took the smart option and put my face on milk.”

“Uh, I remember. My face was on vegetables,” Bruce answered. “You have milk and vegetables in there from 2012?”

“Nope.” Tony took out what looked to be a DVD titled ‘Rappin’ with Cap’. Steve’s face was overcome with horror. “Yep, it’s those goofy PSAs Cap had to do.”

“No way,” Sam exclaimed taking the DVD from Tony. “Safety First?”

“Food for Thought?” Pietro asked when he looked at the back of the DVD.

“Your Changing Body?” Bucky added. “Please tell me these are as dorky as ‘The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan’ shows.”

“Come on, these are meant to be serious tools for educating the youth of today,” Bruce interrupted though really trying hard not to laugh at the image on the front of the DVD.

“Please tell me you are going to throw corrosive liquid over those,” Steve grumbled.

“Nah, not before we watch them,” Bucky replied.

“I’m on his side,” Tony added.

“I third that,” Sam announced. “Maybe Wanda would like to see them as well.”

“Guys come on-”

However, Bucky, Pietro, Sam and Tony were already heading out the door.

“Sorry Steve, but if Natasha doesn’t see these then I am going to get it in the neck,” Bruce commented.

Steve rolled his eyes and resigned to be subjected to this humiliation.

-o-

“ _Hi, I’m Captain America. Whether you’re a student or a solider, there’s one thing that will always give you the edge: a hot lunch._ ”

“Who thought this was a good idea?” Natasha laughed. “I forgot how goofy that suit Coulson designed was.”

“No, this is worse than ‘Star-Spangled Man’,” Bucky sniggered.

“Unfortunately, there is no song,” Tony lamented sarcastically. “I think that is somewhere in the Stark Archives.”

Steve could only hold his head down and not look at the screen. It was so much worse than he remembered. “Why did I agree to do this?”

“I have no idea, but it was a nice idea,” Wanda said, slightly reassuringly, though the tone of her voice showed how much she was trying not to burst out laughing. The main point of hilarity is how with each PSA, Steve was looking more and more exacerbated with what he had to read out. Highlighted even more when it came to the puberty section.

“ _So, your body’s changing. Believe men, I know how that feels_.”

“I have seen pictures of you before your serum; I refuse to believe you ever went through puberty,” Sam commented.

“My voice deepened.”

“Okay, okay guys. Party’s over,” Wanda said turning the DVD off.

“Oh come on,” Pietro complained.

“No enough. I think Steve has had enough humiliation for one evening.”

“I’m not really sure why you are getting any enjoyment out of this Tony since you have done far more humiliating things than this,” Pepper condemned.

“I’m not meant to be a role model though,” Tony retorted.

“Hold on, wasn’t Thor in something like this?” Darcy asked grabbing her IPad.

“No… I think it was something else,” Bruce answered.

“Ah, I got it: Thor’s cameo in _Days of Our Lives_.”

“So, milk, vegetables, goofy PSA, and a soap cameo,” Sam counted off and then looked at Natasha.

“I actively refused to do anything,” Natasha answered. “They wanted me to be some mascot for makeup.”

“Oh god, I remember that,” Pepper commented. “The sheer sexism in that idea was…”

“Infuriating. I know.” Natasha turned to look at Wanda to see if she had anything to say, only to find that Wanda had dozed off on Steve’s shoulder. “Should we go?”

“Probably for the best,” Steve whispered.

-o-

It was a couple weeks later when Steve was told he was going on a mission overseas, but it would mean that he would miss the twelve week appointment. Since Pietro and Bucky were also expected to go on the mission, she did not have any backup to go with her to the appointment. Wanda did not mind going on her own but it would be more advisable if there were any concerns that she had someone to support her.

Thankfully, Natasha was not on the mission, so Wanda took the risk of asking her friend.

“This isn’t the one where they stick something inside your vagina right?” Natasha asked.

“No. This one they scan through the stomach.”

“Okay, good. If it is more advisable then I would be there for you. Why are you expecting anything to be wrong?”

Wanda sighed, “The doctor said that there could be a risk of twin-to-twin transfusion. Because they share a placenta, there is the risk that one baby could receive too much blood and the other doesn’t, which can be fatal to both.”

“So how do they see if there is a risk?”

“Basically, if one twin is way smaller than the other really. Even if there wasn’t that risk, I just get nervous with scans.”

“Hey, it will be okay. Even if they do show signs of twin-to-twin transfusion, you’re still early enough into the pregnancy that they can do something.”

“Thanks Nat.”

-o-

“Okay, so let’s see how these little guys or girls are doing. You’re looking a good size, so hopefully they should be in the right percentile for growth,” the ultrasound technician commented as she put the probe onto the gel on Wanda’s stomach. Wanda looked at the screen and her heart hitched when she saw two grey baby shapes in the black space of her uterus. “There we go. So, it looks like they are growing fine at the moment, though we will have you in for regular scans after sixteen weeks to check their growth.”

“Okay, so for the moment, she can relax?” Natasha asked

“For the moment. Okay, so it looks like we have twenty toes and twenty fingers, two beating hearts and eight limbs. Would you like to hear the heartbeats?”

“Yes please,” Wanda answered.

The sonographer pressed a button and the galloping hooves started through the room. “Good. Nice strong heartbeats. I just need to check your blood pressure and you should be good to go.”

“Do you know the sex?” Wanda asked.

“Not yet. Still a little too early to say. We can offer you an amniocentesis if you want.”

“Can that tell the sex?”

“Among other things. I can’t see anything in your scan to suggest either twin has Down’s syndrome but if you want to get checked…”

“Is this the one that involves a needle?”

“It does. There is a very small risk of miscarriage as well so it is up to you.”

“I’ll pass. I can wait.”

The doctor checked Wanda’s blood pressure, which measured still within normal limits, so the only advice she had was for Wanda to enjoy the next month. Steve arrived home the next day and it was in bed when Wanda showed the scan photo.

“But everything was good?” he asked.

“At the moment. They have very strong heartbeats.”

“Any clues on the sex?”

“Nah. They did offer a test but I thought I would wait until we were together to find out.”

“Nice to know.”


	13. Announcement

Chapter Thirteen

Once Wanda hit thirteen weeks, she felt like she had a sudden surge of energy. The morning sickness had finally alleviated (though fish was still making her nauseous), she was managing to stay awake longer in the evenings, and her sex drive has increased tenfold. Which did not bother Steve so much but Wanda’s bluntness about wanting sex right there took a lot of the romance out of it. They did have a pretty active sex life, but what was usually four times a week turned into at least twice a day.

“Sorry if you feel like I am using you,” Wanda commented one night after a particularly steamy session.

“Trust me, your not. I think you underestimate my stamina though,” Steve chuckled.

“I can’t help it. You just do something to me.”

“I wondered why you are still with me.”

“So, since I am thirteen weeks, I think we should be safe to tell all our friends about the babies.”

“You’re right. Can’t keep it a secret forever.”

“Especially now I am looking the same size I was when I was five months pregnant with Joey.” Wanda put her hand on her bump and gave it a soft stroke. “The Stark Industries Gala is this Saturday. Maybe we should tell them then, and then that way the press will know.”

“Do we really want the world to know?”

“Like you said, people are going to notice. I can’t hide under baggy clothes forever.”

-o-

Wanda had thought of ways to telling everyone but in the end she decided to let her body speak for itself, especially when it came to the fact that her bump was growing by the hour. Thankfully, she had found a dress that would accomindate her curves and made her look great. It was blood red and chiffon and Wanda loved it.

After a shower and Wanda having done her hair and makeup, she showed Steve the full picture of her look for the evening. His heart melted. Even with the prominent swell, she looked so beautiful with her hair in a loose Rapunzel braid and smokey-eyed makeup. It was the most he had seen her dressed up.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“Absolutely perfect,” Steve commented pressing a kiss to her lips. “You nervous?”

“I’m actually anticipating what they are going to say. Hopefully, it should be good.”

-o-

“Oh my god,” Darcy exclaimed.

“Yep, there is something cooking in there,” Sam commented.

“She looks about three months along, maybe more,” Bruce observed.

“Ha I knew it!” Pepper declared as Tony handed over fifty dollars. Wanda could not help but laugh at that one. She clearly had not been that subtle.

Taking Steve’s hand, they walked over to the bar and were greeted with a swarm of congratulations. Then things got back to normal when Sam announced, “I call fifty on boy.”

“Or boys,” Steve corrected, deciding to tell the fun bit in person.”It’s twins this time around.”

“And they could be girls,” Natasha pointed out.

It then took everyone a second to realise that Natasha had not looked remotely surprised by this news, with Tony vocalising the question, “You knew?”

“I found out about a month ago. She wasn’t drinking and she sings like a canary when I ask her something.” Wanda's cheeks went pink a little, remembering the bachelorette party. “I’m guessing Pepper was on the right track given the money you just lost.”

“Yeah, I started guessing from the other week. I found the empty bottle of alcohol free wine in the recycling,” Pepper explained. “Also she ran out the room when I had a tuna sandwich once.”

“Yeah, seafood and fish are not agreeing with me at the moment,” Wanda explained. “Even the smell just makes me nauseous.”

“But is everything okay with you and the babies?” Bruce asked.

“At the moment. They’re identical twins so I am going to need regular scans in a few weeks. They’re monitoring my blood pressure but I have started to take some aspirin and lower my sodium intake to reduce the risk.”

“But more importantly, are we having a betting pool on the sex?” Sam asked.

“Sam, you lost the last time we betted on the sex,” Pietro argued.

“I call a hundred on girls,” Bucky added.

“Hey, no fair,” Sam protested.

“Can I say it will be boy-girl?” Darcy asked.

“They’re identical so they can’t be the opposite sex,” Wanda explained.

“Ah. Okay, I’m saying girls.”

“Thanks babe,” Sam muttered.

“Look, someone has to take Sam’s side so I am going to say boys,” Pietro declared.

“Thanks man.”

By the end of the night, Sam, Pietro and Tony were betting on them being boys, while everyone else was betting that it would be girls, at which point Wanda had to point out that if Sam, Pietro and Tony were wrong, they had to pay five people. Sam was not bothered since he was sure he was going to be right this time.

“God, imagine if they started to argue over who was being godparent,” Wanda commented a little while later. “Sam and Nat already have Joey covered, and I don’t think we should inflate Tony’s ego more than it can withstand.”

“Well, Bucky should be one, that's obvious,” Steve replied.

“There is no rush is there?”

“We don’t know what will happen between now and when they’re born so I think we can settle it later.”

“Agreed.”

-o-

The next few weeks flew by and Wanda found herself back in the doctors office, only with Steve beside her this time. This was the first of the four growth scans they had to have to monitor whether the babies were getting an even distribution of blood vessels.

Steve had his hand wrap around Wanda’s as the doctor skirted gel onto Wanda’s protruding stomach and placed the probe onto the gel. The image on the screen flashed and Steve and Wanda beamed.

“There we go,” the doctor said. “Twin one is looking a normal size so if I just check twin two…” Wanda’s heart started to beat quickly until the doctor said, “looks okay at the moment. A lot can happen in two weeks so just keep coming back.”

After the appointment, Steve took Wanda for lunch. While he had steak and fries, Wanda went straight for the desert. The waitress, having seen Wanda’s stomach, did not question the choice.

“I know, I know. But that cheesecake sounds so good,” Wanda protested.

“There has to be a way for you to manage your cravings,” Steve commented.

“Probably. I know you are trying to keep me healthy but… Cheesecake.”

Steve sighed but decided not to cause another argument like the one they had a couple weeks ago over Steve being too protective over her. Instead he asked, “Should we discuss any ideas for names?”

“Well, I quite like Sofia for a girl. Or maybe Tiena.”

“Okay. I think I prefer Hannah or Lilly.”

Wanda made a belgured sigh; this was going to be a long running discussion and even longer if the twins did turn out to be girls.

“Can we make an agreement that if they are boys, one of them can be called James?”

“Don’t you want your father’s name?”

“I don’t know if Pietro would want to use it. Granted, I don't think it is happening anytime soon.”

“Did you two call dibs or something?”

“No. We just always said that if we ever had children then we would honour our parents memory by naming our kids after them. I’m guessing you had the same logic when we named Joey after your father?”

“Well, yeah. Okay, James can be one, and maybe Django for the other.”

“Deal.”

It was then Wanda realised that they had more common ground in boys names than they did girls. They just had so many ideas that it was sort of hard to quantify what they really liked and what they agreed on.

It was in the middle of the conversation, Steve got a phone call and had to excuse himself. Wanda took advantage and stole some of his fries. When he came back, he said, “I have to go to London for an important meeting tomorrow.”

“Oh. Right.”

“We need to build a liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D and MI5; President’s orders.”

“That’s fine. We'd best finish and pay the bill.”

-o-

“Right, Joey. I know it is easier for you to pee into your diaper, but I think you will feel a great sense of accomplishment if you pee in the potty,” Wanda said to Joey when they stood at the door to the upstairs bathroom.

Joey just looked at his mother like she had lectured on nuclear physics. Wanda wanted to get Joey out of diapers before the twins were born so there would not be three diapers to change.

“Okay. Let’s think about it sweetie. Do you want to be a big boy?” Joey nodded. “Okay, so if you pee in the potty then you will be a real big boy.”

“Relwee?”

“Yes, and if you do it for a whole week, I will get you that singing Elmo doll you want. Deal?”

Joey nodded, though when he looked at the dinosaur potty he picked out, he looked very confused.

“Maybe I should wait until Daddy gets back eh?”

However, it seemed the bribe of the Elmo doll done the trick. Joey pulled his jeans down and sat on the potty. While Wanda knew he did not have the right technique but it was at least in the potty and not on the floor. Joey did not care as he had a smile on his face.

“Good boy,” Wanda declared. After it was emptied and Wanda helped Joey wash his hands, she had helped him put a star on the chart. Joey seemed really proud of himself and wanted to tell his father. Wanda checked the time. It was two in the afternoon, so it must be seven in London. Steve would be out his meeting by this point, so Wanda grabbed her phone, dialled Steve’s number and put it on speaker.

“ _You okay Doll_?” Steve asked when he answered the phone.

“Let’s just say we’ve had a breakthrough,” Wanda answered.

“ _With what_?”

Wanda put the phone near Joey and he exclaimed, “I… I peepee on potty.”

Wanda broke into a smile before adding, “He’s sitting on the potty but it’s better than the floor.”

“ _Good_.”

“How was the meeting?”

“ _Not too bad. I wondered why I was there but it was productive.”_

“Well, get some sleep. You have an early flight tomorrow. I love you.”

“ _Love you too Doll. Love you too Joey.”_

“Wuv you Da-dee,” Joey replied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am seeing Avengers: Infinity War on Wendesday night (midnight screening!) so the plan is to get the prologue of Infinty and Beyond uploaded on Wendesday around 8pm GMT. I have started the first chapter one the first part but I need to see the film before I decide the final outcome, which may not be until I see Avengers 4. This may be more ongoing than I thought it was going to be. Drinks.


	14. Protect

Chapter Fourteen

A few weeks passed and Wanda’s appointments showed no sign of twin-to-twin transfusion so Wanda’s stress levels were going down. Steve’s, however, was going through the roof. Since Wanda was twice as big, she found herself far more clumsy than before.

The first instance was when Wanda slipped over in her own office and could not get back up. She had had to call Steve to help her up, though since she landed on her side and not on her belly, she did not need to see the doctor.

However, there was one incident that resulted in an argument. During a lunch break, Wanda decided she wanted a sandwich from the deli across the street but they were having problems with connecting to the internet and it was cash only. Thankfully, an ATM was next door so Wanda went to grab some cash. She only just put her pin into the machine when she heard a commotion behind her.

“Everyone don’t move!”

Wanda took a deep breath and put her hand on her belly. She turned around and kept her hands up.

“I said don’t move!”

“Okay, I hear you. Do you really want to do this?”

“Shut up!”

Wanda remained silent and then looked to the three people beside her. The robber put a gun to the back of one woman’s back and asked her to withdraw $500. At that point, Wanda could not stand by and let innocent people get hurt. She then used her powers to levitate the man off the ground and bounce him up and down.

“What the-,” Wanda then threw him against the wall, but did it so vigorously she torn a muscle in her thigh.

“Okay, robber, prepare to meet your maker,” a young voice said. Wanda looked over and saw Peter Parker in his Spider-Man suit, only for him to realised that the robber had already been taken care of. “Oh man. I thought I said local stuff was my territory.”

“You live in Queens,” Wanda pointed out holding her leg.

“Oh god, are the babies coming. I don’t remember this being covered in health class.” At that point, Peter cupped his hands between Wanda’s legs and Wanda gave him the face that wondered what the hell he was doing. “Am I doing it wrong?”

“I’m not in labour, I just pulled a muscle in my leg.”

“Oh,” Peter straightened up and tried to shake off that moment of stupidity. “Do you want me to call someone?”

“No, you stay with the suspect and I will- AH!” Wanda tried to walk but the pain in her leg made it impossible. “Okay, help me hobble over to the HQ.”

Peter sprayed some fluid on the robber so he would not be able to escape before the police got there. He then hooked Wanda’s arm around his shoulders and helped her hobble over. They only got to the other side of the pavement when they were confronted by a very worried looking Steve.

“It’s just a pulled a muscle,” Wanda said.

“Thanks Peter, I can take it from here,” Steve said taking Wanda’s right arm and helping her into the building.

“I’ll just deal with the police then,” Peter called, though not sure if anyone heard him.

Steve took Wanda to the medical room and she was checked out. Ultimately, it was a mild sprain and was told to rest at home with an ice pack and elevation. The doctor checked that the babies were okay and then put a blood pressure monitor on.

“It’s slightly high but it may just be the rush of adrenaline,” the doctor said.

“Okay,” Wanda replied. The medic left and Wanda put her hands on her belly. She looked at Steve and he looked quite angry. “I’m okay Steve, and so are the babies.”

“You should have waited for back up.”

“And do what, just let the guy shoot that woman? I can’t sit back and let that happen.”

“Peter would have been there before anything would have happened.”

“I did not know that. He could have easily killed me and the babies.”

“Yes he could have!”

“I can’t keep waiting for you to come to save me. I told you, I’m not a piece of china.”

The blood pressure monitor hitched and Steve looked at it. It was slightly higher than it was before and it put a lot in perspective. Seeing his pregnant wife lying on that bed, now worried about this spike made him more concerned for her feelings.

“I’m sorry. I just got worried that you were seriously hurt.”

“Well I’m not. I just need to rest the muscle and I will be good as new.”

“The thing is that I would blame myself if anything happened to the three of you.”

“You can’t protect us all forever.”

“I can try.” Steve went to press his lips to her forehead. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

-o-

“Wanda,” someone called from behind Wanda as she was walking towards the stairs.

Wanda turned and replied, “Daisy. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. I just need to ask you a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Since it is yours and Pietro’s birthday on Saturday, I was wondering if you had any idea on what I can get him.”

Wanda blinked. She had known Pietro and Daisy were dating but she did not think it was serious enough for the present exchange yet. “Oh. Right.”

“It sounds odd that I would ask you but you know him better than I do.”

“For some reason he has been really into video games; I blame the fact that now Bucky is there he actually has someone to compete with.”

“So a video game. Good. Saves me buying him a tie.”

“Oh no, he hates ties. He actively refused to wear one for Tony and Peppers - ah!” At that point Wanda tripped up the step, landed on her belly and then toppled down.

“Oh my god, Wanda are you okay?” Daisy asked running down to help Wanda.

“I think so,” Wanda groaned as she tried to sit up.

“I think we need to get you to the medic. You fell on your stomach and it could have hurt the babies.”

Wanda nodded as Daisy helped her up and they both made their way to the medical facility. “I think my centre of gravity has shifted so much it’s caused me to fall forward.”

“Can you feel anything?”

“Wrestling. I guess it means the babies are okay but not happy.” Wanda rubbed her stomach. “I’m sorry. I know, I know.”

“Do you need me to stay?”

“Can you get Steve? Better he comes now than hear it through the grapevine.”

“Okay.”

Daisy left her on the bed as the medic rushed to check her stomach. “Can you tell me where the pain is?”

“On the left mainly.”

“Okay, well, I can still feel the twins moving around in there so I think they’re okay. I just want to check you out on a ultrasound in case you have ruptured something.”

Wanda nodded, and then Steve burst into the room in a panic. “What happened?” he asked.

“I missed the step and fell forward and then down the stairs,” Wanda explained. “I can still feel kicks so I think the babies are okay.”

“Let’s just have a look,” the doctor said picking up an ultrasound probe. She squirted some gel on Wanda’s stomach and moved the probe over the lower part of her belly. Before they knew it there was a strong sound of a heartbeat. “There we go, twin one looks a healthy size. Let’s look at twin two... Good. Twin two is smaller but not enough to cause concern.” Steve breathed a sigh of relief and kissed Wanda’s forehead. “Everything looks in order. Would you like to know the sex?” 

“Please,” Wanda replied too eagerly. She had been waiting to hear this for months.

The doctor turned the screen to them and pointed to a spot between twin two’s legs, “You’re having girls.”   
At that point, Wanda broke out into a huge smile that could outshine the sun, and Steve met her grin and kissed her on the lips. 

“Told you I was right,” Wanda commented. 

“Okay. You win, but is everything okay with the placenta?” Steve asked.

“Well, after twenty-five weeks the placenta starts to decelerate the growing so you’ve avoided the high risk period. It can happen after this period but since you’re going to have regular checkups we will keep you monitored. Right now, I think you should consider taking your maternity leave early.”

Wanda nodded. As much as she hated feeling useless, the accident earlier made her realise she needed to reduce her presence. It was a close call.

-o-

Since they had not announced the sex of the babies yet, Wanda thought it would be fun to go to a bakery and get them to fill a load of cupcakes with pink icing to hand out to the team. While it was not quite a baby shower, the team insisted on a small gathering to see her onto maternity leave. Hence the idea of the cupcakes. 

“Don’t we usually bring the food?” Natasha asked. 

“Do you really want to try that quiche Tony made?” Wanda asked. 

“Is that a quiche?”

“Ha, ha. You two are hilarious,” Tony commented behind them. 

“Sorry, but seriously what is it?” 

“It was meant to be mac ‘n’ cheese.” 

Wanda and Natasha turned around and tilted their heads to the side. “Oh…”

Tony rolled his eyes and grabbed a cupcake. Wanda took the risk of grabbing the cheesy pasta and tried it. “Hmm, not bad.”

“So, you looking forward to putting your feet up and watching all the garbage television?”

“Honestly, I think I need to. I may be pass the high risk for T-t-T but there is still the risk of pre-eclampsia.”

“Well, I shall be insisting on girl time so you don’t feel like a recluse or that we have forgotten about you.” 

“Thanks?”

“Um, Wanda is there a particular reason why these cupcakes have pink icing in?” Sam asked. 

Natasha then took one and broke it apart, showing the pink icing, “Well, Wilson, you better grab that betting pool.”

Wanda smiled and then went over to Steve. He wrapped his arm around her waist and announced, “Hey everyone. So before Wanda went on maternity leave, we thought it would be a good time to make an announcement.”

“We know the sex of the babies and since some of you have taken a cupcake, you may have already guessed: we’re having girls.” Wanda could just about hear her brother groan. “I hope that is a groan of excitement that you are getting two nieces.”

“Nah, he’s just remembered he put fifty bucks into that gender betting pool,” Bucky commented.

 


End file.
